Fewer than 10% of people who could benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy can access them, warns the World Health Organization as it issues its first guidance on the medications.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
Per forecasts, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with comprehensive and continuous support," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are key barriers to widespread access to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, says the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Even in the current most optimistic case, the production of such drugs would only suffice for around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The advice calls on governments and firms to increase availability, by measures such as licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Work
The injections imitate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and increase the sense of being full so people consume fewer calories.
People typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Studies points to people may see weight return within a year of stopping the treatment, as their typical food cravings resume.
To be above a healthy weight increases your likelihood for contracting diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Obesity affects people in countries worldwide and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
