Fewer than a tenth of individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy are able to get them, caution the WHO as it releases its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
With over a billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
Per estimates, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with comprehensive and ongoing care," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are key hurdles to broad availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, notes the agency.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even under the present most favorable case, the supply of these medications might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, per the health organization.
The guideline encourages countries and companies to expand access, by strategies such as licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in several countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Work
These medications imitate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and boost the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories.
Individuals commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Evidence indicates patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the medication, because their typical hunger come back.
To be carrying excess weight increases your chance for experiencing diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight impacts individuals in all nations and was responsible for 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
