Fewer than one in 10 individuals who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy have access to them, caution the WHO as it publishes its first guidance on the drugs.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
Based on forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidelines recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with thorough and continuous treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are significant barriers to widespread availability to the injections that can help people shift significant body mass, notes the organization.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even under the present best projected outlook, the production of such drugs might only reach around 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.
The guideline urges nations and manufacturers to expand access, through approaches like licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Operate
GLP-1 drugs imitate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and boost the sense of being full so individuals eat less.
Patients typically see weight reduction after several weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Research points to people may see weight return a year later of discontinuing the medication, as their normal appetite resume.
Being above a healthy weight increases your risk for experiencing health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight affects people in every country and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
