Under a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy have access to them, states the global health agency as it releases its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for increased and just availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to forecasts, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with comprehensive and lifelong care," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are significant barriers to universal access to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing substantial weight, notes the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even under the current most favorable outlook, the manufacturing of these medications could only cover approximately 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The guideline encourages nations and manufacturers to widen access, by strategies including patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main ingredient of a leading brand – is due to expire in several nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Function
GLP-1 drugs mimick a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so people eat less.
Patients commonly start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Studies points to users may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the drug, when their typical appetite come back.
Being above a healthy weight raises your risk for contracting health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Obesity impacts individuals in every country and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
