Fewer than 10% of individuals who could benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it releases its first advice on the therapies.
Considering over a billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
Per forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with holistic and continuous care," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are significant barriers to universal availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing considerable weight, explains the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Despite the present best projected scenario, the production of these medications would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The recommendation urges nations and manufacturers to expand access, by approaches like licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the primary component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Operate
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and boost the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories.
Individuals usually see weight reduction within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research suggests patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the drug, as their typical food cravings come back.
To be above a healthy weight increases your likelihood for experiencing diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Obesity affects people in all nations and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
