Under one in 10 people eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, caution the WHO as it issues its initial recommendations on the drugs.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to this class of drugs.
Per projections, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with thorough and continuous treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are major barriers to universal access to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, notes the body.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even under the current most favorable scenario, the production of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The recommendation encourages governments and firms to expand availability, via measures including patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Operate
The injections imitate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so people reduce food intake.
People usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to patients may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the drug, as their usual food cravings return.
To be above a healthy weight elevates your chance for developing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some cancers.
Excess weight impacts individuals in every country and was linked to over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
