Under one in 10 patients eligible to benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy have access to them, states the WHO as it publishes its inaugural guidance on the therapies.
With more than one billion people worldwide now obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
According to estimates, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with thorough and continuous treatment," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are key hurdles to broad availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, notes the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Despite the current most optimistic case, the production of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, according to the health organization.
The advice encourages nations and manufacturers to increase availability, via strategies including patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Operate
These medications mimick a natural hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so people reduce food intake.
People commonly start to lose weight within a few weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Studies points to people may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the medication, as their normal appetite return.
To be overweight or obese elevates your risk for experiencing health problems, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Obesity affects people in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
