Fewer than a tenth of patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy have access to them, caution the global health agency as it publishes its initial guidance on the drugs.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
Based on estimates, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidance affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with thorough and ongoing support," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are major barriers to broad availability to the jabs that can help people shift substantial body mass, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even in the present most favorable case, the production of such drugs could only cover approximately 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The guideline urges governments and firms to increase access, by measures including patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the core component of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Function
These medications mimick a biological compound to slow digestion, curb appetite and increase the sense of being full so individuals eat less.
People usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Studies points to people may see weight return after a year of discontinuing the treatment, because their usual appetite return.
To be above a healthy weight elevates your likelihood for experiencing health problems, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in countries worldwide and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
