Under a tenth of individuals that would benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it releases its first guidance on the medications.
With more than one billion people worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging broader and more equitable access to this class of drugs.
According to forecasts, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidance recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and ongoing care," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are major obstacles to broad availability to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, explains the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Even in the present most favorable scenario, the manufacturing of these medications could only cover around 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO.
The advice calls on governments and firms to expand availability, through measures such as voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Operate
These medications replicate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and boost feelings of fullness so people reduce food intake.
Individuals commonly see weight reduction within a few weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence points to patients may put most of the weight back on a year later of stopping the drug, because their usual appetite return.
To be above a healthy weight increases your likelihood for developing diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight concerns people in countries worldwide and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
