Less than one in 10 people who could benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy are able to get them, states the World Health Organization as it issues its inaugural advice on the medications.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
According to estimates, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines recognises that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with thorough and continuous care," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant barriers to widespread availability to the treatments that can help people shift significant body mass, notes the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even in the present most favorable case, the supply of these medications could only cover approximately 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The advice encourages countries and companies to increase availability, by measures such as patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of a leading brand – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Work
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so individuals eat less.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds after several weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Research suggests people may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the drug, when their typical food cravings come back.
To be carrying excess weight elevates your chance for developing diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific cancers.
Obesity concerns people in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
