Under one in 10 people that would benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is advocating for increased and just availability to these injectable treatments.
Per estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with holistic and continuous support," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are significant obstacles to universal availability to the injections that can help people shift considerable weight, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the present best projected scenario, the production of these medications would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, according to the health organization.
The advice urges countries and companies to expand access, by measures including licensing agreements.
A patent on a key compound – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Injections Work
GLP-1 drugs mimick a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and boost feelings of fullness so people reduce food intake.
Patients usually see weight reduction within a few weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Research points to patients may regain a significant portion within a year of discontinuing the drug, as their usual appetite come back.
To be above a healthy weight increases your risk for developing medical conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns people in every country and was linked to millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
