Less than a tenth of patients who could benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy can access them, states the WHO as it releases its first recommendations on the drugs.
With over a billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for increased and just availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our latest guidance recognises that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with holistic and ongoing care," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are key obstacles to widespread access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even in the current most favorable scenario, the manufacturing of these medications might only reach about 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The recommendation encourages governments and firms to increase access, via approaches such as voluntary licensing.
A patent on a key compound – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Work
These medications imitate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and increase satiety so people eat less.
People typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Evidence suggests users may regain a significant portion within a year of halting the treatment, when their normal hunger come back.
Being overweight or obese elevates your risk for developing diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in all nations and was linked to millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
