Under one in 10 people eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy have access to them, caution the WHO as it issues its initial guidance on the drugs.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on forecasts, more than two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidance recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with comprehensive and continuous treatment," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are major obstacles to broad availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, explains the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even under the current most optimistic scenario, the production of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, according to the health organization.
The recommendation calls on governments and firms to expand availability, via strategies like voluntary licensing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Work
The injections imitate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so people reduce food intake.
Individuals typically start to lose weight after several weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Studies indicates patients may see weight return after a year of stopping the treatment, because their usual food cravings come back.
To be above a healthy weight increases your chance for experiencing medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Obesity impacts individuals in all nations and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
