Less than one in 10 patients who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy have access to them, warns the WHO as it issues its first advice on the medications.
With over a billion people worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for increased and just availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with comprehensive and lifelong care," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are key obstacles to broad access to the jabs that can help people shift significant body mass, notes the body.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even under the current best projected outlook, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover around 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.
The guideline calls on governments and firms to widen availability, via measures like patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Work
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and enhance satiety so individuals consume fewer calories.
People usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Studies indicates patients may regain a significant portion within a year of halting the treatment, because their typical hunger resume.
To be above a healthy weight increases your chance for experiencing medical conditions, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some malignancies.
Obesity concerns people in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
