Fewer than 10% of people eligible to benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy are able to get them, states the global health agency as it issues its inaugural recommendations on the therapies.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on forecasts, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidelines affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with comprehensive and lifelong treatment," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are key hurdles to universal availability to the injections that can help people shift considerable body mass, explains the organization.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even under the current most favorable outlook, the manufacturing of these medications would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline urges countries and companies to widen access, via measures like patent sharing.
A patent on semaglutide – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and increase satiety so users eat less.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Studies points to users may regain a significant portion a year later of halting the medication, when their typical food cravings resume.
Being above a healthy weight elevates your likelihood for experiencing diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers.
Excess weight concerns individuals in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
