Less than one in 10 people who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy have access to them, caution the World Health Organization as it publishes its first advice on the therapies.
With over a billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
According to estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with thorough and lifelong support," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are key hurdles to universal availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, explains the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even under the current most optimistic case, the supply of GLP-1 therapies might only reach approximately 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, according to the health organization.
The advice calls on governments and firms to expand availability, through approaches like patent sharing.
A patent on a key compound – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Operate
The injections mimick a body's own hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so people reduce food intake.
People usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Studies indicates people may see weight return within a year of stopping the medication, when their normal hunger return.
Being above a healthy weight raises your likelihood for contracting medical conditions, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain cancers.
Obesity concerns people in all nations and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
