Under one in 10 individuals that would benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy can access them, caution the global health agency as it publishes its first advice on the medications.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
According to estimates, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with thorough and lifelong treatment," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are significant obstacles to widespread access to the injections that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, says the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the present most favorable scenario, the supply of such drugs would only suffice for around 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The advice urges countries and companies to widen availability, via approaches like voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Work
These medications imitate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and boost satiety so individuals reduce food intake.
People commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research indicates people may see weight return after a year of discontinuing the medication, as their normal appetite return.
Being carrying excess weight raises your risk for contracting medical conditions, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight concerns people in countries worldwide and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
