Less than 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy are able to get them, caution the World Health Organization as it issues its first guidance on the medications.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging increased and just access to these injectable treatments.
Per estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with holistic and continuous support," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key obstacles to widespread access to the injections that can help people shift significant body mass, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even in the present most optimistic outlook, the production of these medications would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The guideline calls on governments and firms to expand availability, by strategies like licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Function
GLP-1 drugs imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and enhance satiety so people consume fewer calories.
People commonly start to lose weight after several weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Evidence indicates users may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the drug, as their usual food cravings come back.
Being carrying excess weight raises your risk for contracting health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Obesity impacts people in all nations and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
