Fewer than a tenth of individuals that would benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, warns the WHO as it releases its inaugural recommendations on the therapies.
With over a billion people worldwide currently obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Per projections, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with holistic and ongoing care," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are significant obstacles to universal access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even in the present most optimistic scenario, the supply of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.
The recommendation urges governments and firms to expand availability, through approaches like licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in several countries in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Function
The injections mimick a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and increase feelings of fullness so individuals consume fewer calories.
People usually begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence suggests people may put most of the weight back on a year later of stopping the medication, as their normal food cravings come back.
To be carrying excess weight elevates your risk for experiencing health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight affects individuals in all nations and was linked to millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
