Fewer than one in 10 individuals who could benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy have access to them, caution the global health agency as it issues its initial guidance on the medications.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for increased and just availability to this class of drugs.
Per estimates, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with holistic and continuous treatment," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are key obstacles to widespread availability to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, says the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the present most optimistic outlook, the manufacturing of such drugs would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, per the health organization.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to widen access, through strategies including patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the main component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Function
These medications mimick a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so individuals eat less.
Patients usually start to lose weight in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Evidence suggests patients may see weight return a year later of stopping the drug, because their typical food cravings resume.
To be carrying excess weight raises your risk for developing medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Obesity impacts individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
