Fewer than one in 10 patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it publishes its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
Per projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with holistic and continuous treatment," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are major barriers to broad availability to the jabs that can help people shift substantial body mass, notes the body.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even in the current most optimistic scenario, the supply of such drugs could only cover about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO.
The advice urges countries and companies to expand availability, through approaches like licensing agreements.
A patent on a key compound – the main ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs imitate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so individuals reduce food intake.
People commonly see weight reduction in the initial weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Evidence points to patients may regain a significant portion within a year of stopping the medication, as their usual appetite return.
To be carrying excess weight raises your likelihood for contracting medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some cancers.
Excess weight affects people in every country and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
