Less than 10% of individuals that would benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, caution the World Health Organization as it releases its first recommendations on the medications.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidelines affirms that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and lifelong treatment," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are significant obstacles to broad availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant weight, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Despite the present best projected scenario, the production of these medications might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, according to the health organization.
The guideline calls on countries and companies to expand availability, through strategies such as patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in several countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Function
These medications replicate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and enhance feelings of fullness so individuals consume fewer calories.
Individuals typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Research suggests patients may see weight return a year later of halting the medication, when their usual hunger come back.
To be overweight or obese increases your chance for contracting medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some cancers.
Excess weight concerns people in countries worldwide and was linked to millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
