Less than 10% of patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, states the global health agency as it issues its inaugural recommendations on the therapies.
Considering over a billion people worldwide currently obese, it is calling for increased and just availability to this class of drugs.
Based on forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be addressed with thorough and lifelong support," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key hurdles to universal access to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, says the agency.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even in the present best projected case, the production of these medications could only cover about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to widen access, through approaches including voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and enhance satiety so individuals consume fewer calories.
Patients usually begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Studies points to patients may put most of the weight back on a year later of discontinuing the drug, because their normal appetite return.
Being above a healthy weight raises your risk for experiencing diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in all nations and was linked to millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
