Fewer than a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, warns the WHO as it releases its initial guidance on the drugs.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently obese, it is calling for increased and just availability to these injectable treatments.
According to estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with comprehensive and lifelong care," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant hurdles to widespread access to the injections that can help people shift significant body mass, explains the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even under the current most favorable case, the production of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The advice encourages nations and manufacturers to expand availability, via measures including patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Operate
GLP-1 drugs imitate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and increase feelings of fullness so users consume fewer calories.
People typically start to lose weight after several weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence points to users may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the drug, when their normal appetite return.
Being overweight or obese increases your chance for developing health problems, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Excess weight concerns people in every country and was linked to 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
