Under one in 10 individuals who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy have access to them, states the WHO as it issues its first guidance on the drugs.
Considering over a billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
According to projections, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidance recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with comprehensive and lifelong support," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are major hurdles to widespread availability to the jabs that can help people shift considerable body mass, says the body.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even in the present best projected case, the supply of GLP-1 therapies might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.
The guideline urges nations and manufacturers to widen access, through approaches like voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Function
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so individuals consume fewer calories.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Studies suggests patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the drug, when their normal appetite come back.
To be overweight or obese raises your likelihood for experiencing health problems, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
