Less than a tenth of patients that would benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the global health agency as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines affirms that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with thorough and continuous support," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are significant barriers to universal access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, says the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the current most favorable outlook, the manufacturing of such drugs would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The recommendation urges nations and manufacturers to increase availability, via strategies including patent sharing.
A patent on semaglutide – the core component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Function
These medications replicate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and enhance the sense of being full so people reduce food intake.
Patients typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence indicates patients may regain a significant portion within a year of stopping the treatment, because their usual food cravings come back.
Being carrying excess weight increases your likelihood for developing diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight impacts individuals in all nations and was associated with 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
