Fewer than one in 10 patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its initial advice on the drugs.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
Based on estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with holistic and ongoing treatment," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are major barriers to broad availability to the injections that can help people shift considerable weight, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the present most optimistic outlook, the supply of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.
The advice calls on governments and firms to expand access, through strategies like patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the main ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Function
GLP-1 drugs mimick a natural hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and boost satiety so individuals eat less.
People typically begin shedding pounds after several weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Studies points to users may see weight return a year later of halting the drug, as their normal hunger return.
Being carrying excess weight increases your chance for developing diseases, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Obesity concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
