Fewer than 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it issues its initial advice on the therapies.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
Based on forecasts, more than two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with comprehensive and continuous care," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are key barriers to universal access to the injections that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even in the present best projected outlook, the supply of GLP-1 therapies might only reach about 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, per the health organization.
The guideline calls on countries and companies to increase availability, by measures including licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the main ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Function
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.
Patients commonly see weight reduction within a few weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Research suggests patients may see weight return a year later of stopping the medication, as their normal food cravings come back.
Being above a healthy weight raises your chance for experiencing diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Obesity impacts people in every country and was responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
