Under a tenth of patients that would benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy are able to get them, states the World Health Organization as it publishes its inaugural advice on the medications.
With more than one billion people worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to forecasts, over two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance affirms that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with comprehensive and continuous support," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are key hurdles to universal access to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing considerable weight, notes the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even under the current most optimistic case, the supply of such drugs might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, as stated by the health organization.
The guideline urges nations and manufacturers to expand access, via measures such as patent sharing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Work
The injections mimick a natural hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and increase feelings of fullness so people eat less.
Patients commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Research suggests users may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the drug, because their typical food cravings resume.
Being above a healthy weight elevates your likelihood for contracting medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some cancers.
Excess weight concerns people in every country and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
