Fewer than one in 10 patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its initial guidance on the drugs.
Considering over a billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging increased and just access to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with comprehensive and lifelong care," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are significant hurdles to universal access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, notes the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the present most optimistic outlook, the production of such drugs might only reach approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to widen access, through approaches like patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the core component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Operate
The injections replicate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and increase the sense of being full so people consume fewer calories.
Patients commonly see weight reduction in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Evidence points to people may put most of the weight back on within a year of discontinuing the drug, when their usual food cravings come back.
Being above a healthy weight elevates your likelihood for contracting medical conditions, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some cancers.
Obesity affects people in every country and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
