Under 10% of patients eligible to benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it issues its initial guidance on the drugs.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is advocating for increased and just access to this class of drugs.
Per forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be addressed with holistic and ongoing support," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are significant obstacles to broad access to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, notes the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even under the present most favorable scenario, the supply of GLP-1 therapies could only cover approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The guideline encourages nations and manufacturers to expand availability, through strategies such as voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Work
These medications replicate a natural hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and increase satiety so people eat less.
Patients commonly begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence indicates patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the drug, when their normal appetite resume.
Being carrying excess weight elevates your likelihood for contracting health problems, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Obesity affects individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
