Under one in 10 individuals eligible to benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy are able to get them, states the WHO as it releases its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for increased and just availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our latest guidance recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with comprehensive and continuous treatment," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are significant barriers to universal availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, notes the body.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Despite the present most favorable scenario, the supply of GLP-1 therapies could only cover about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline encourages nations and manufacturers to increase access, by strategies like licensing agreements.
A patent on a key compound – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Function
The injections replicate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so people eat less.
Patients usually see weight reduction in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Research indicates patients may regain a significant portion a year later of halting the medication, because their usual food cravings come back.
Being overweight or obese increases your likelihood for developing diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Obesity affects people in every country and was linked to millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
