Less than 10% of people that would benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy can access them, states the global health agency as it issues its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on projections, more than two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidance acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with thorough and ongoing care," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are major obstacles to universal availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, says the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Despite the current best projected case, the production of these medications might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The recommendation encourages governments and firms to widen access, by measures including voluntary licensing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of a leading brand – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Work
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and boost feelings of fullness so users reduce food intake.
Patients typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Research points to people may put most of the weight back on a year later of discontinuing the treatment, when their normal appetite return.
To be carrying excess weight raises your chance for experiencing medical conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Obesity affects individuals in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
