Fewer than one in 10 individuals eligible to benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy are able to get them, caution the World Health Organization as it publishes its first recommendations on the therapies.
Considering over a billion people worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging increased and just access to these injectable treatments.
Per projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and continuous support," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are key obstacles to widespread access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing considerable weight, notes the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even under the current most optimistic scenario, the supply of such drugs could only cover around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, according to the health organization.
The guideline calls on countries and companies to widen access, through strategies including licensing agreements.
A patent on semaglutide – the main ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Function
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and increase the sense of being full so people reduce food intake.
Individuals typically start to lose weight within a few weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Evidence suggests people may regain a significant portion after a year of discontinuing the medication, as their normal appetite come back.
Being carrying excess weight increases your likelihood for developing medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight affects individuals in every country and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
