Less than one in 10 patients eligible to benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it publishes its first guidance on the medications.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
Per forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidance affirms that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with thorough and ongoing support," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are major obstacles to broad availability to the jabs that can help people shift considerable weight, says the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even in the current best projected case, the manufacturing of such drugs would only suffice for around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO.
The recommendation urges nations and manufacturers to widen access, through approaches like voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Work
GLP-1 drugs mimick a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and boost satiety so users reduce food intake.
People typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Studies indicates people may see weight return a year later of stopping the medication, as their usual hunger resume.
To be overweight or obese raises your likelihood for contracting health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight concerns people in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
