Under 10% of patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, states the WHO as it issues its first recommendations on the medications.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging increased and just availability to this class of drugs.
Based on projections, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with thorough and lifelong care," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are significant hurdles to broad access to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing considerable weight, notes the body.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Despite the current most optimistic outlook, the production of GLP-1 therapies might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to expand access, through approaches like patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the main ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Drugs Operate
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and boost the sense of being full so people eat less.
Patients commonly see weight reduction within a few weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Research suggests users may see weight return within a year of stopping the drug, because their normal hunger return.
To be overweight or obese increases your likelihood for developing medical conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight affects people in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
