Less than a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, caution the global health agency as it releases its first advice on the drugs.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging broader and more equitable access to this class of drugs.
Per forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with thorough and ongoing care," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are significant obstacles to universal availability to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, says the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Despite the current most optimistic case, the production of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for around 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline encourages nations and manufacturers to widen access, by measures like patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.
People commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Evidence points to people may put most of the weight back on a year later of discontinuing the treatment, as their normal appetite resume.
Being carrying excess weight raises your likelihood for experiencing medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
