Fewer than a tenth of people eligible to benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy can access them, states the World Health Organization as it publishes its first guidance on the drugs.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments.
According to forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our latest guidelines recognises that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with holistic and ongoing care," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are key barriers to widespread availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing considerable weight, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even in the present best projected outlook, the supply of these medications might only reach about 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The advice encourages countries and companies to expand availability, via approaches like voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in several nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Work
These medications imitate a biological compound to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and boost feelings of fullness so people consume fewer calories.
Patients usually start to lose weight after several weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Research suggests people may put most of the weight back on a year later of discontinuing the drug, when their usual appetite come back.
To be carrying excess weight raises your chance for contracting health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Obesity impacts individuals in every country and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
