Less than one in 10 people that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy are able to get them, warns the global health agency as it issues its inaugural guidance on the therapies.
Given more than one billion people worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
Based on projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with thorough and ongoing support," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are significant obstacles to universal availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing considerable weight, says the organization.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even in the present best projected case, the production of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for about 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO.
The recommendation encourages governments and firms to increase availability, via strategies such as voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Operate
The injections mimick a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and boost feelings of fullness so people eat less.
Patients usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Evidence indicates people may see weight return within a year of discontinuing the medication, because their normal food cravings resume.
Being above a healthy weight increases your chance for contracting health problems, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain cancers.
Excess weight concerns individuals in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
