Under 10% of individuals that would benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy have access to them, states the World Health Organization as it issues its first advice on the drugs.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
According to forecasts, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with holistic and lifelong care," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are major hurdles to broad availability to the injections that can help people shift substantial weight, says the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even under the present best projected case, the manufacturing of these medications might only reach about 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The advice calls on countries and companies to widen availability, via measures including patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Work
The injections imitate a natural hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and increase feelings of fullness so people reduce food intake.
Patients commonly begin shedding pounds after several weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Research indicates patients may put most of the weight back on after a year of discontinuing the treatment, when their typical appetite return.
To be overweight or obese increases your chance for contracting diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain malignancies.
Obesity concerns individuals in every country and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
