Less than one in 10 people eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy can access them, states the World Health Organization as it issues its first guidance on the medications.
Given more than one billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
Based on forecasts, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidelines recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with holistic and lifelong treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are significant barriers to universal availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, notes the body.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even under the current best projected case, the supply of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline encourages countries and companies to widen access, by measures including licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Operate
GLP-1 drugs replicate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and increase feelings of fullness so users consume fewer calories.
People typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Studies indicates people may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the medication, when their typical food cravings return.
To be overweight or obese increases your chance for developing health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain cancers.
Excess weight impacts individuals in all nations and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
