Under one in 10 individuals who could benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy have access to them, caution the WHO as it publishes its initial advice on the drugs.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is advocating for increased and just availability to GLP-1 medication.
Per estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with comprehensive and continuous treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are significant obstacles to broad access to the injections that can aid individuals in losing considerable weight, says the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even under the current most optimistic case, the production of these medications could only cover approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the WHO.
The advice urges countries and companies to expand access, via strategies such as licensing agreements.
A patent on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several countries in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Function
These medications replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and boost the sense of being full so people consume fewer calories.
People typically start to lose weight after several weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Studies indicates people may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the drug, because their usual appetite resume.
To be overweight or obese increases your likelihood for developing medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific cancers.
Excess weight concerns people in countries worldwide and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
