Under one in 10 patients who could benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy can access them, caution the World Health Organization as it publishes its first advice on the medications.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
Based on forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with thorough and continuous treatment," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are significant obstacles to widespread access to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, explains the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Even under the current most optimistic case, the manufacturing of these medications might only reach around 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline calls on nations and manufacturers to expand availability, through strategies such as voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Work
The injections mimick a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and enhance satiety so individuals reduce food intake.
Individuals commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Studies suggests patients may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the drug, as their normal appetite come back.
Being overweight or obese raises your chance for experiencing medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Obesity concerns people in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
