Under one in 10 patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, caution the WHO as it releases its initial advice on the therapies.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
Per forecasts, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with thorough and ongoing care," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are significant obstacles to widespread availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, explains the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Despite the current most optimistic scenario, the manufacturing of these medications could only cover approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, as stated by the health organization.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to increase availability, via measures like licensing agreements.
A patent on semaglutide – the main component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Operate
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and boost satiety so people reduce food intake.
People usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Evidence points to people may see weight return a year later of stopping the medication, when their usual appetite resume.
Being carrying excess weight raises your likelihood for developing diseases, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Obesity impacts individuals in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.