Fewer than one in 10 patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it releases its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.
Given more than one billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is advocating for increased and just availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to projections, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with holistic and ongoing care," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are key barriers to universal access to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, notes the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even in the present best projected outlook, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The recommendation urges countries and companies to widen access, through strategies such as patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the core component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Work
The injections replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and increase feelings of fullness so individuals eat less.
Individuals usually see weight reduction after several weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to people may see weight return within a year of stopping the treatment, because their usual hunger come back.
Being above a healthy weight raises your risk for contracting health problems, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight affects people in every country and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.