Less than 10% of individuals who could benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy have access to them, states the World Health Organization as it publishes its first recommendations on the drugs.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
Per projections, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and ongoing treatment," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant hurdles to widespread access to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant weight, explains the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Despite the present most optimistic outlook, the manufacturing of these medications might only reach around 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.
The recommendation encourages countries and companies to expand availability, through measures like voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Work
These medications mimick a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so users consume fewer calories.
Individuals typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence indicates patients may put most of the weight back on a year later of discontinuing the medication, as their normal appetite return.
To be carrying excess weight elevates your risk for contracting health problems, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Obesity concerns people in every country and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
