Fewer than 10% of individuals that would benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy can access them, warns the WHO as it issues its initial recommendations on the drugs.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now obese, it is urging increased and just availability to GLP-1 medication.
Per estimates, over two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidance recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with holistic and ongoing support," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are major obstacles to widespread availability to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, says the organization.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Despite the present best projected scenario, the manufacturing of such drugs could only cover about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.
The advice encourages countries and companies to expand access, through approaches including patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Operate
These medications replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so individuals reduce food intake.
People commonly see weight reduction in the initial weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Evidence suggests users may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the treatment, when their normal food cravings return.
Being above a healthy weight raises your chance for experiencing medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight affects people in countries worldwide and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
