Under one in 10 individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy have access to them, states the World Health Organization as it releases its initial advice on the therapies.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to this class of drugs.
Based on projections, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our latest guidance affirms that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and ongoing support," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are key hurdles to universal availability to the injections that can help people shift substantial body mass, explains the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even in the current most favorable case, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, as stated by the health organization.
The advice urges governments and firms to expand availability, by strategies such as patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Function
The injections mimick a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.
Individuals typically see weight reduction after several weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Research suggests users may see weight return within a year of stopping the drug, when their usual hunger come back.
To be overweight or obese raises your likelihood for developing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in all nations and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
