Fewer than a tenth of patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its inaugural advice on the medications.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to forecasts, over two billion could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our latest guidance recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with thorough and ongoing support," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are major hurdles to broad availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing considerable weight, says the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Despite the present most favorable scenario, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, according to the health organization.
The advice urges countries and companies to increase availability, via measures such as licensing agreements.
A patent on a key compound – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Work
These medications imitate a natural hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and increase satiety so individuals reduce food intake.
People commonly begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Studies suggests patients may put most of the weight back on after a year of discontinuing the treatment, because their typical hunger return.
Being above a healthy weight increases your likelihood for developing diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight affects people in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
