Fewer than one in 10 individuals that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy have access to them, warns the global health agency as it releases its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
Per projections, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with holistic and lifelong treatment," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are major hurdles to broad availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, notes the body.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even under the present most favorable case, the manufacturing of these medications would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to widen availability, via measures like voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Work
These medications imitate a biological compound to slow digestion, curb appetite and increase feelings of fullness so users eat less.
Individuals typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Research indicates people may regain a significant portion after a year of halting the treatment, because their usual appetite resume.
To be above a healthy weight raises your likelihood for experiencing diseases, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some malignancies.
Obesity impacts individuals in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
