Less than a tenth of people who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, caution the WHO as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now obese, it is calling for increased and just access to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, over two billion could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and lifelong support," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are significant barriers to broad availability to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, explains the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Even under the present most optimistic outlook, the manufacturing of these medications would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.
The guideline urges nations and manufacturers to increase access, by approaches such as patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Work
These medications replicate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so people reduce food intake.
Individuals commonly begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence points to users may regain a significant portion a year later of stopping the drug, because their typical food cravings resume.
Being overweight or obese raises your chance for contracting diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Excess weight affects individuals in every country and was responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
