Fewer than one in 10 individuals who could benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy can access them, caution the global health agency as it releases its first recommendations on the medications.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging broader and more equitable availability to this class of drugs.
According to projections, more than two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with thorough and ongoing care," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are major obstacles to widespread availability to the jabs that can help people shift substantial body mass, explains the agency.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Despite the current most favorable scenario, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to increase access, through approaches including patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Operate
These medications mimick a natural hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and increase feelings of fullness so individuals eat less.
Patients usually see weight reduction within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Research indicates users may see weight return within a year of stopping the medication, when their typical hunger return.
Being above a healthy weight raises your risk for developing medical conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some cancers.
Excess weight affects people in all nations and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
