Fewer than 10% of patients that would benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy are able to get them, states the WHO as it releases its first recommendations on the therapies.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging broader and more equitable access to this class of drugs.
Based on projections, over two billion will be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidance affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with thorough and lifelong care," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are key hurdles to widespread access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, says the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the current most favorable outlook, the production of these medications would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.
The recommendation encourages countries and companies to increase availability, by measures like voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Injections Work
The injections mimick a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and boost the sense of being full so people eat less.
Individuals usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to people may put most of the weight back on after a year of discontinuing the medication, because their normal appetite resume.
To be above a healthy weight raises your chance for developing health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Obesity concerns people in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
