Fewer than one in 10 patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy have access to them, states the WHO as it issues its initial advice on the medications.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Per forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidance affirms that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and continuous treatment," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key obstacles to broad access to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing substantial body mass, says the body.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even under the present most optimistic outlook, the supply of such drugs would only suffice for about 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The advice encourages countries and companies to widen access, through approaches like licensing agreements.
A patent on the active ingredient – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Function
The injections mimick a biological compound to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so people eat less.
Patients usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Evidence points to people may see weight return a year later of halting the treatment, when their usual appetite resume.
Being carrying excess weight increases your chance for experiencing diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Obesity impacts people in countries worldwide and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
