Under a tenth of individuals who could benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy can access them, caution the global health agency as it issues its first recommendations on the therapies.
With more than one billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Per projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with comprehensive and continuous care," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are significant obstacles to broad availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even in the current most favorable outlook, the production of such drugs might only reach around 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The advice encourages governments and firms to increase access, through strategies like voluntary licensing.
A patent on semaglutide – the main ingredient of a leading brand – is due to expire in several nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Function
These medications imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and increase the sense of being full so users consume fewer calories.
People usually see weight reduction after several weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Research suggests users may put most of the weight back on a year later of stopping the medication, as their normal hunger come back.
To be overweight or obese increases your likelihood for developing medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some cancers.
Obesity impacts individuals in all nations and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
