Fewer than a tenth of individuals who could benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy are able to get them, states the global health agency as it releases its first recommendations on the drugs.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for increased and just access to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidance affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be managed with holistic and continuous care," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key hurdles to universal availability to the treatments that can help people shift significant weight, explains the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Despite the current most optimistic case, the supply of these medications might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, as stated by the health organization.
The recommendation calls on governments and firms to widen access, by approaches like voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Work
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and increase satiety so people consume fewer calories.
Individuals commonly see weight reduction in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Studies suggests patients may regain a significant portion after a year of discontinuing the drug, because their typical hunger come back.
Being above a healthy weight elevates your risk for contracting health problems, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Obesity affects people in every country and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
