Under one in 10 people who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it releases its inaugural advice on the medications.
Given over a billion people worldwide now obese, it is urging increased and just access to these injectable treatments.
Per estimates, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidelines affirms that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with comprehensive and continuous treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant obstacles to universal availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing substantial body mass, notes the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the present most optimistic scenario, the production of these medications could only cover about 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The recommendation encourages governments and firms to expand access, through measures such as patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Function
These medications replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and enhance satiety so individuals reduce food intake.
Individuals commonly begin shedding pounds after several weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Studies suggests people may see weight return within a year of stopping the medication, because their typical hunger resume.
To be carrying excess weight elevates your likelihood for experiencing health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight affects people in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
