Under one in 10 individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its first recommendations on the therapies.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
Per projections, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and lifelong support," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are major barriers to universal access to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even in the present most optimistic scenario, the supply of these medications could only cover around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.
The guideline calls on governments and firms to widen access, via measures like patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Operate
The injections replicate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and enhance satiety so individuals eat less.
Patients commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Research points to patients may regain a significant portion after a year of halting the medication, as their usual hunger come back.
To be overweight or obese increases your chance for experiencing health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in countries worldwide and was linked to over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
