Less than 10% of individuals who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy are able to get them, states the global health agency as it issues its first recommendations on the therapies.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now obese, it is urging broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.
Based on forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and continuous support," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are significant obstacles to universal availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, notes the body.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even in the current best projected case, the manufacturing of these medications might only reach approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The advice encourages nations and manufacturers to increase access, via strategies including voluntary licensing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Work
The injections imitate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and increase the sense of being full so people reduce food intake.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds after several weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Evidence suggests people may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the treatment, as their typical appetite return.
To be overweight or obese elevates your chance for developing medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some malignancies.
Obesity concerns people in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
