Fewer than one in 10 people eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it issues its first guidance on the medications.
Considering over a billion people worldwide now obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
Based on forecasts, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines affirms that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with thorough and ongoing treatment," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are major obstacles to universal access to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, notes the agency.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even under the present most favorable scenario, the production of these medications would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, per the health organization.
The advice encourages nations and manufacturers to expand access, by approaches such as voluntary licensing.
A patent on a key compound – the main component of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Work
GLP-1 drugs mimick a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and enhance feelings of fullness so users eat less.
Patients usually start to lose weight after several weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Research points to people may regain a significant portion within a year of stopping the medication, because their usual food cravings resume.
Being above a healthy weight increases your likelihood for contracting medical conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers.
Excess weight concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
