Fewer than 10% of people eligible to benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy have access to them, caution the World Health Organization as it publishes its first guidance on the therapies.
Given more than one billion people worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
According to forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidance recognises that obesity is a long-term condition that can be managed with thorough and continuous treatment," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are key obstacles to broad access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing considerable weight, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even in the current most favorable scenario, the production of these medications would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, according to the health organization.
The guideline urges countries and companies to widen access, through approaches including voluntary licensing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Function
The injections replicate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and increase the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories.
Patients typically start to lose weight after several weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence indicates users may see weight return after a year of halting the medication, because their usual hunger return.
Being above a healthy weight increases your likelihood for contracting health problems, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Obesity impacts people in all nations and was linked to over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
