Under 10% of people eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, caution the global health agency as it publishes its initial recommendations on the medications.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
According to forecasts, over two billion will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidance recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and lifelong treatment," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are major hurdles to broad availability to the jabs that can help people shift substantial body mass, says the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even under the present most favorable scenario, the production of these medications could only cover approximately 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.
The advice urges countries and companies to increase access, through measures like voluntary licensing.
A patent on a key compound – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Function
These medications mimick a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and increase feelings of fullness so users reduce food intake.
Patients typically start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Studies points to people may regain a significant portion a year later of stopping the treatment, when their normal hunger return.
Being carrying excess weight increases your risk for experiencing health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in all nations and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
