Less than 10% of people eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy can access them, caution the WHO as it publishes its first advice on the therapies.
With more than one billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on estimates, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with comprehensive and ongoing support," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are key hurdles to widespread access to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, says the body.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even in the present most optimistic scenario, the manufacturing of such drugs would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The guideline encourages nations and manufacturers to expand access, via measures such as patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the main ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Work
The injections imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and increase the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories.
Individuals typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Research indicates users may see weight return after a year of stopping the treatment, when their typical appetite return.
To be above a healthy weight elevates your likelihood for developing diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight concerns people in every country and was associated with 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
