Less than one in 10 individuals eligible to benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy are able to get them, states the global health agency as it publishes its initial guidance on the therapies.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
Per projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidance recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with holistic and ongoing treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are significant obstacles to universal access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, says the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even under the current best projected case, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The advice encourages countries and companies to expand availability, through measures including patent sharing.
A patent on semaglutide – the main ingredient of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Drugs Operate
The injections replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and increase satiety so individuals reduce food intake.
People commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Evidence indicates patients may regain a significant portion after a year of stopping the medication, because their normal hunger return.
Being above a healthy weight increases your chance for experiencing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Obesity concerns individuals in every country and was responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
