Less than 10% of patients that would benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it releases its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is advocating for increased and just availability to these injectable treatments.
According to estimates, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with holistic and lifelong treatment," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are key barriers to widespread access to the jabs that can help people shift significant weight, explains the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even in the present most optimistic scenario, the production of such drugs would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, according to the health organization.
The recommendation calls on countries and companies to widen availability, via strategies including voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Operate
These medications replicate a natural hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and boost feelings of fullness so people consume fewer calories.
People usually start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to people may put most of the weight back on after a year of discontinuing the treatment, as their normal appetite resume.
Being above a healthy weight elevates your chance for contracting health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Obesity affects people in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
