Under a tenth of people who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its initial guidance on the medications.
Given over a billion people worldwide currently obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
Per forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with comprehensive and continuous care," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are major hurdles to broad access to the injections that can help people shift considerable weight, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even in the present best projected case, the production of these medications might only reach around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The guideline urges governments and firms to expand access, through strategies like voluntary licensing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the main ingredient of a leading brand – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and boost satiety so individuals consume fewer calories.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Research suggests people may regain a significant portion after a year of stopping the drug, because their usual hunger come back.
To be above a healthy weight elevates your risk for contracting diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight affects people in countries worldwide and was associated with over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
