Under 10% of people that would benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the global health agency as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
According to forecasts, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidelines recognises that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with thorough and continuous treatment," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are key obstacles to broad access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable weight, notes the body.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even in the present most optimistic outlook, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover around 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The guideline calls on governments and firms to widen availability, via strategies such as patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Function
GLP-1 drugs imitate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and enhance satiety so individuals reduce food intake.
Patients commonly see weight reduction in the initial weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Studies suggests patients may see weight return within a year of stopping the drug, when their normal appetite return.
Being carrying excess weight increases your likelihood for experiencing health problems, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Obesity affects individuals in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
