Less than one in 10 patients eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy are able to get them, caution the WHO as it releases its inaugural recommendations on the therapies.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
Per projections, over two billion will be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidance recognises that obesity is a long-term condition that can be addressed with holistic and continuous care," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are major obstacles to widespread availability to the injections that can help people shift substantial body mass, notes the organization.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even under the present best projected outlook, the supply of such drugs would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to increase access, via strategies such as patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and increase satiety so users consume fewer calories.
People typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research suggests users may put most of the weight back on after a year of discontinuing the drug, because their usual hunger come back.
To be carrying excess weight elevates your risk for contracting health problems, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some cancers.
Excess weight impacts individuals in all nations and was linked to 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
