Less than a tenth of individuals eligible to benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy have access to them, caution the World Health Organization as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
Given over a billion people worldwide currently obese, it is advocating for increased and just access to these injectable treatments.
According to forecasts, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidance acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with thorough and continuous care," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are key obstacles to universal access to the jabs that can help people shift substantial weight, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even under the present most favorable case, the supply of such drugs would only suffice for around 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.
The recommendation calls on nations and manufacturers to widen access, by strategies including licensing agreements.
A patent on a key compound – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Operate
These medications replicate a biological compound to slow digestion, reduce hunger and boost satiety so people consume fewer calories.
People commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Studies points to people may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the medication, when their normal hunger return.
To be overweight or obese raises your chance for contracting medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight affects people in all nations and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
