Under one in 10 patients that would benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy have access to them, caution the global health agency as it publishes its inaugural guidance on the therapies.
Given more than one billion people worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging broader and more equitable access to this class of drugs.
According to forecasts, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our new guidance affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with comprehensive and ongoing treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are major barriers to broad access to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, explains the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even in the current most favorable scenario, the manufacturing of such drugs might only reach around 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to expand access, through measures like patent sharing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Function
GLP-1 drugs mimick a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and boost the sense of being full so individuals eat less.
People typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence indicates users may regain a significant portion a year later of stopping the medication, because their typical food cravings come back.
Being above a healthy weight raises your chance for contracting health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Excess weight concerns people in every country and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
