Less than one in 10 patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it publishes its inaugural advice on the therapies.
Given over a billion people worldwide currently obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
According to forecasts, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with thorough and lifelong support," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are major obstacles to universal access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, says the agency.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Despite the present most favorable case, the production of these medications would only suffice for around 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, as stated by the health organization.
The recommendation urges nations and manufacturers to widen access, through strategies such as patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the main ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Operate
These medications mimick a natural hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and boost the sense of being full so individuals eat less.
People commonly see weight reduction after several weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Evidence indicates patients may put most of the weight back on a year later of stopping the treatment, because their typical hunger return.
To be above a healthy weight raises your chance for contracting diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns people in all nations and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
