Less than a tenth of individuals who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy can access them, caution the global health agency as it publishes its initial guidance on the medications.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
Per forecasts, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and continuous care," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are major hurdles to universal availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable weight, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the current most optimistic scenario, the manufacturing of these medications could only cover about 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The recommendation urges countries and companies to increase availability, via measures like patent sharing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Function
These medications imitate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and increase satiety so individuals consume fewer calories.
Individuals commonly begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Studies indicates users may regain a significant portion after a year of stopping the treatment, because their normal appetite resume.
Being carrying excess weight raises your risk for developing health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific cancers.
Obesity affects people in every country and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
