Under one in 10 patients eligible to benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy can access them, warns the WHO as it publishes its inaugural guidance on the therapies.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for increased and just availability to these injectable treatments.
According to projections, over two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with thorough and continuous care," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant hurdles to widespread availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even under the current most favorable scenario, the supply of such drugs could only cover around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, as stated by the health organization.
The recommendation calls on nations and manufacturers to expand access, through measures like patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Work
These medications replicate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and increase satiety so users eat less.
Patients usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Evidence suggests people may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the treatment, because their usual hunger return.
To be carrying excess weight raises your risk for contracting diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some cancers.
Obesity affects individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
