Fewer than 10% of patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy have access to them, states the global health agency as it publishes its initial guidance on the drugs.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging increased and just availability to this class of drugs.
Per projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidance recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with thorough and continuous treatment," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are key barriers to widespread access to the treatments that can help people shift significant weight, notes the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Despite the present most optimistic scenario, the supply of such drugs might only reach around 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.
The advice encourages nations and manufacturers to widen availability, through strategies such as licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Function
The injections replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and boost the sense of being full so individuals eat less.
People commonly start to lose weight after several weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Research indicates patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the drug, when their normal hunger come back.
To be carrying excess weight raises your chance for developing health problems, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Obesity concerns people in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
