Under one in 10 people who could benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy are able to get them, states the World Health Organization as it issues its initial advice on the therapies.
With more than one billion people worldwide now obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.
Per forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and lifelong support," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are major barriers to broad availability to the treatments that can help people shift substantial body mass, says the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even under the current best projected case, the production of these medications could only cover about 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.
The recommendation calls on nations and manufacturers to expand access, by strategies like patent sharing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of a leading brand – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Work
The injections imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and boost feelings of fullness so users consume fewer calories.
Patients typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to people may regain a significant portion within a year of halting the treatment, as their typical appetite resume.
To be above a healthy weight elevates your chance for developing medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns people in countries worldwide and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
