Less than one in 10 patients that would benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy can access them, states the global health agency as it issues its first advice on the drugs.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
According to estimates, over two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with thorough and ongoing treatment," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key barriers to universal availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, says the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even under the present most favorable case, the manufacturing of such drugs would only suffice for around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The recommendation encourages nations and manufacturers to widen availability, by strategies like voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Operate
The injections mimick a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and boost the sense of being full so individuals reduce food intake.
Patients usually see weight reduction within a few weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to people may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the treatment, because their normal appetite come back.
To be overweight or obese increases your likelihood for experiencing medical conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain malignancies.
Obesity impacts people in all nations and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
