Fewer than 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it releases its initial advice on the medications.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
Per projections, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidance acknowledges that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with comprehensive and continuous support," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are significant hurdles to universal availability to the jabs that can help people shift substantial body mass, notes the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even in the present most favorable outlook, the production of these medications would only suffice for around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The advice encourages governments and firms to widen access, through approaches like patent sharing.
A patent on semaglutide – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several countries in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Operate
GLP-1 drugs imitate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so users consume fewer calories.
People typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Research points to patients may see weight return after a year of discontinuing the medication, as their normal food cravings return.
Being above a healthy weight elevates your risk for experiencing medical conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Excess weight impacts people in countries worldwide and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
