Fewer than a tenth of patients that would benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy are able to get them, states the global health agency as it releases its initial recommendations on the therapies.
Given more than one billion people worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
According to estimates, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with comprehensive and ongoing support," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are significant barriers to universal availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, notes the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even in the present most favorable scenario, the supply of such drugs might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The recommendation encourages nations and manufacturers to widen availability, through approaches like licensing agreements.
A patent on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Function
GLP-1 drugs imitate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and enhance the sense of being full so people eat less.
Patients commonly begin shedding pounds after several weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Studies points to users may regain a significant portion a year later of discontinuing the treatment, when their usual food cravings return.
To be carrying excess weight elevates your chance for developing diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in every country and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
