Under one in 10 patients that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy can access them, caution the WHO as it publishes its first advice on the medications.
Given more than one billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, over two billion will be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our latest guidance affirms that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with holistic and lifelong care," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key hurdles to widespread access to the injections that can help people shift considerable body mass, notes the organization.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even in the present most optimistic outlook, the production of such drugs might only reach approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The guideline urges countries and companies to increase availability, by approaches such as patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the core component of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Work
These medications mimick a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and enhance satiety so people consume fewer calories.
People usually see weight reduction in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to patients may put most of the weight back on a year later of halting the drug, when their usual hunger resume.
To be carrying excess weight increases your chance for contracting diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain malignancies.
Obesity concerns people in every country and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
