Less than 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy can access them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its first recommendations on the drugs.
With over a billion people worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for increased and just access to this class of drugs.
According to forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and lifelong care," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are major barriers to widespread availability to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, explains the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even in the current most favorable outlook, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, according to the health organization.
The guideline encourages countries and companies to widen availability, through measures such as patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Function
These medications imitate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and boost the sense of being full so individuals reduce food intake.
Individuals usually see weight reduction after several weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Research indicates patients may see weight return a year later of discontinuing the drug, when their typical food cravings come back.
Being carrying excess weight increases your likelihood for contracting diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight affects people in all nations and was linked to millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
