Fewer than one in 10 patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it issues its inaugural advice on the therapies.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidance recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with holistic and lifelong support," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are significant barriers to universal availability to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, notes the agency.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even in the current most favorable case, the manufacturing of such drugs would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The advice calls on countries and companies to increase access, by strategies like voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the core ingredient of a leading brand – is due to expire in multiple countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Work
These medications mimick a biological compound to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and boost the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories.
Individuals commonly start to lose weight within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Research indicates people may see weight return within a year of halting the drug, because their typical hunger come back.
To be overweight or obese raises your likelihood for experiencing diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight affects individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
