Under 10% of people that would benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy have access to them, states the global health agency as it releases its initial advice on the drugs.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
Based on forecasts, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and continuous treatment," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are key hurdles to broad availability to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Despite the current most favorable scenario, the supply of GLP-1 therapies might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline urges nations and manufacturers to expand availability, through strategies including licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Operate
These medications replicate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and increase feelings of fullness so individuals consume fewer calories.
Individuals usually see weight reduction in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence suggests users may see weight return a year later of stopping the drug, when their usual food cravings return.
To be above a healthy weight increases your risk for experiencing medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Excess weight affects individuals in all nations and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
