Fewer than one in 10 people that would benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, states the World Health Organization as it publishes its initial advice on the medications.
With over a billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on estimates, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines affirms that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with comprehensive and continuous treatment," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are significant hurdles to broad access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, notes the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the present most favorable scenario, the production of these medications would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the health organization.
The recommendation urges countries and companies to widen access, through strategies including patent sharing.
A patent on a key compound – the core component of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Work
These medications mimick a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so users consume fewer calories.
Individuals usually begin shedding pounds after several weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to patients may see weight return within a year of discontinuing the medication, when their typical hunger return.
To be overweight or obese raises your likelihood for experiencing medical conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in all nations and was responsible for 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
