Less than 10% of patients eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its inaugural guidance on the therapies.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
Per estimates, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidance affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with thorough and continuous treatment," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are major hurdles to broad availability to the injections that can help people shift substantial body mass, notes the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even under the present most optimistic scenario, the supply of GLP-1 therapies might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO.
The recommendation calls on governments and firms to increase access, by strategies like patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Work
The injections imitate a biological compound to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and boost feelings of fullness so users consume fewer calories.
Patients typically see weight reduction within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research indicates people may see weight return within a year of discontinuing the treatment, when their usual appetite come back.
Being carrying excess weight raises your chance for experiencing health problems, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some cancers.
Obesity concerns people in countries worldwide and was linked to millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
