Under one in 10 people eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy can access them, caution the WHO as it publishes its initial guidance on the therapies.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
Per projections, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with comprehensive and ongoing care," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are major barriers to broad access to the treatments that can help people shift substantial body mass, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even under the current most optimistic scenario, the manufacturing of such drugs could only cover about 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The advice encourages countries and companies to increase availability, via strategies such as patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Injections Operate
These medications replicate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so users consume fewer calories.
Patients usually begin shedding pounds after several weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Evidence indicates patients may see weight return after a year of discontinuing the treatment, as their usual hunger resume.
To be overweight or obese elevates your risk for contracting health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers.
Excess weight affects people in all nations and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
