Fewer than a tenth of patients that would benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy are able to get them, caution the WHO as it releases its initial recommendations on the medications.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
According to projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with thorough and ongoing support," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are major barriers to universal access to the injections that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, explains the agency.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Despite the current most optimistic case, the supply of GLP-1 therapies could only cover approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The advice encourages countries and companies to widen availability, by strategies such as voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Work
GLP-1 drugs mimick a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so individuals eat less.
Patients usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Studies suggests users may put most of the weight back on within a year of discontinuing the drug, as their normal food cravings return.
To be above a healthy weight elevates your chance for experiencing diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Obesity concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
