Under 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy are able to get them, caution the World Health Organization as it releases its initial advice on the medications.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments.
Based on forecasts, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with comprehensive and ongoing support," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key obstacles to broad availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, says the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even in the present most favorable outlook, the manufacturing of these medications could only cover about 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.
The advice urges countries and companies to widen access, through measures like voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Function
The injections imitate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and enhance the sense of being full so people eat less.
People commonly see weight reduction in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Studies indicates people may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the drug, as their usual hunger return.
Being overweight or obese raises your chance for experiencing diseases, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain malignancies.
Obesity impacts people in every country and was linked to over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
