Fewer than a tenth of people that would benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it releases its first advice on the drugs.
Considering over a billion people worldwide currently obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.
Per forecasts, more than two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with thorough and lifelong support," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are key obstacles to broad availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, says the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even in the current most optimistic scenario, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies could only cover around 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline calls on nations and manufacturers to increase availability, by measures including voluntary licensing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Work
The injections replicate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and boost satiety so people reduce food intake.
Patients commonly start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Evidence indicates people may put most of the weight back on after a year of discontinuing the medication, because their usual appetite come back.
Being carrying excess weight increases your chance for experiencing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific cancers.
Obesity affects people in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
