Under a tenth of patients that would benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy can access them, caution the global health agency as it publishes its first guidance on the therapies.
With over a billion people worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for increased and just access to this class of drugs.
According to forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with thorough and ongoing treatment," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are major obstacles to universal access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even in the present most favorable scenario, the production of these medications might only reach around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.
The guideline encourages governments and firms to widen access, by strategies including licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in several countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Operate
The injections imitate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and boost satiety so individuals consume fewer calories.
Individuals typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Studies indicates people may see weight return within a year of stopping the drug, when their usual food cravings return.
Being above a healthy weight raises your risk for experiencing medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight affects individuals in all nations and was linked to millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
