Fewer than 10% of individuals who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy can access them, caution the World Health Organization as it publishes its first advice on the medications.
With over a billion people worldwide now obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
Per estimates, more than two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our latest guidelines recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and continuous care," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are significant hurdles to universal access to the jabs that can help people shift significant body mass, notes the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the current most favorable scenario, the production of such drugs could only cover approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, according to the health organization.
The advice calls on countries and companies to widen availability, via approaches like patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Work
The injections mimick a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and increase the sense of being full so users consume fewer calories.
People typically start to lose weight after several weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Studies indicates patients may regain a significant portion within a year of halting the treatment, as their usual appetite return.
Being overweight or obese raises your likelihood for developing medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some malignancies.
Obesity impacts individuals in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
