Under 10% of patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy are able to get them, caution the WHO as it publishes its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging increased and just availability to these injectable treatments.
Per estimates, over two billion will be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with thorough and ongoing care," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are significant obstacles to widespread access to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even under the present most favorable scenario, the manufacturing of these medications could only cover around 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to widen availability, by approaches like licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Work
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and boost satiety so individuals consume fewer calories.
Individuals usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Evidence suggests patients may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the drug, as their typical hunger resume.
Being carrying excess weight raises your risk for developing health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight impacts people in all nations and was linked to 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
