Less than a tenth of individuals eligible to benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy have access to them, states the WHO as it publishes its first advice on the drugs.
With more than one billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
According to projections, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with holistic and lifelong care," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key obstacles to universal access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, notes the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Despite the current most optimistic outlook, the production of these medications would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The advice encourages countries and companies to expand access, by approaches such as voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Function
These medications imitate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and enhance the sense of being full so people eat less.
Individuals usually start to lose weight in the initial weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Research suggests users may put most of the weight back on a year later of stopping the drug, because their typical food cravings come back.
Being carrying excess weight raises your risk for developing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Excess weight impacts individuals in all nations and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
