Fewer than 10% of patients who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy are able to get them, caution the global health agency as it issues its first recommendations on the drugs.
Given over a billion people worldwide currently obese, it is urging increased and just access to these injectable treatments.
Based on forecasts, more than two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidance affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with holistic and lifelong care," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant hurdles to widespread access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing significant weight, says the organization.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even under the present most favorable case, the production of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, per the health organization.
The advice calls on governments and firms to increase access, by measures like patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Operate
These medications replicate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and increase feelings of fullness so individuals consume fewer calories.
Individuals commonly start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to users may see weight return a year later of halting the medication, as their usual food cravings come back.
Being above a healthy weight increases your likelihood for contracting diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some cancers.
Obesity affects individuals in every country and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
