Less than a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy have access to them, caution the World Health Organization as it publishes its first guidance on the therapies.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for increased and just availability to this class of drugs.
According to estimates, over two billion could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our latest guidance affirms that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with comprehensive and ongoing care," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are major hurdles to universal access to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, notes the agency.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Despite the present best projected scenario, the manufacturing of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.
The recommendation calls on governments and firms to expand access, via approaches such as voluntary licensing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Work
GLP-1 drugs replicate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and enhance satiety so people reduce food intake.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Studies indicates patients may regain a significant portion within a year of stopping the drug, when their normal hunger resume.
Being above a healthy weight raises your chance for contracting health problems, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight concerns people in every country and was linked to millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
