Fewer than a tenth of people who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy have access to them, warns the WHO as it publishes its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
Per estimates, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidelines recognises that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with holistic and continuous care," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are significant hurdles to universal availability to the jabs that can help people shift significant weight, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even in the current most optimistic case, the manufacturing of such drugs would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to expand access, via measures such as licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the main component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Drugs Work
The injections imitate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so people consume fewer calories.
Patients usually see weight reduction in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to people may see weight return within a year of halting the drug, because their typical appetite come back.
Being overweight or obese elevates your likelihood for contracting diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight affects people in countries worldwide and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
