Under 10% of people eligible to benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it issues its first guidance on the therapies.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
Based on forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be addressed with comprehensive and lifelong care," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are significant hurdles to broad access to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing considerable weight, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even in the current most optimistic outlook, the manufacturing of these medications would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.
The guideline urges nations and manufacturers to increase availability, through strategies including voluntary licensing.
A patent on a key compound – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Work
These medications replicate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and increase satiety so users eat less.
Individuals commonly begin shedding pounds after several weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Studies indicates people may regain a significant portion within a year of stopping the treatment, when their normal hunger return.
Being carrying excess weight elevates your likelihood for developing health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight impacts individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
