Fewer than a tenth of patients who could benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy have access to them, states the global health agency as it publishes its initial guidance on the medications.
With over a billion people worldwide now obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to this class of drugs.
According to projections, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidance recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with holistic and continuous treatment," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are major barriers to broad availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing substantial body mass, says the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Despite the current most favorable case, the manufacturing of these medications would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the health organization.
The guideline urges countries and companies to increase access, by strategies like licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Function
The injections mimick a natural hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and enhance satiety so people reduce food intake.
Individuals commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence points to patients may put most of the weight back on after a year of discontinuing the treatment, as their usual appetite resume.
Being above a healthy weight increases your chance for developing medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Obesity concerns people in every country and was associated with over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
