Under 10% of individuals who could benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy have access to them, states the WHO as it publishes its inaugural guidance on the medications.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to estimates, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidance acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be managed with holistic and continuous support," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are major hurdles to widespread availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing significant weight, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even under the current best projected outlook, the production of such drugs would only suffice for about 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.
The recommendation encourages nations and manufacturers to widen availability, via measures such as licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Work
GLP-1 drugs mimick a body's own hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and enhance satiety so people reduce food intake.
People typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Studies points to users may regain a significant portion after a year of stopping the medication, as their usual hunger return.
To be carrying excess weight raises your likelihood for contracting diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Obesity impacts people in all nations and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
