Fewer than a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy have access to them, states the global health agency as it releases its initial advice on the therapies.
Considering more than one billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
Per projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidance recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with holistic and ongoing support," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are major obstacles to universal availability to the injections that can help people shift considerable body mass, notes the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even under the present most favorable case, the production of these medications would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.
The recommendation urges countries and companies to increase access, through approaches including licensing agreements.
A patent on the active ingredient – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Injections Operate
GLP-1 drugs mimick a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and boost satiety so people reduce food intake.
Patients typically start to lose weight within a few weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Studies points to patients may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the drug, because their usual hunger come back.
To be above a healthy weight increases your chance for contracting diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns people in all nations and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
