Under 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it publishes its initial recommendations on the drugs.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to forecasts, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidance recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and continuous support," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are major hurdles to universal access to the injections that can help people shift substantial weight, notes the body.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Despite the present best projected scenario, the production of GLP-1 therapies might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO.
The advice encourages governments and firms to increase availability, through approaches like voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the core component of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Work
GLP-1 drugs imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so users consume fewer calories.
Individuals typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Research points to patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the drug, when their typical hunger come back.
To be above a healthy weight raises your likelihood for contracting diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Obesity impacts people in every country and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
