Less than 10% of patients eligible to benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy have access to them, states the WHO as it issues its inaugural advice on the medications.
With more than one billion people worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
Per forecasts, more than two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our new guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with thorough and lifelong care," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are major barriers to broad availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, notes the agency.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Despite the current most optimistic outlook, the supply of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.
The guideline calls on nations and manufacturers to widen availability, via strategies such as voluntary licensing.
A patent on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of a leading brand – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Function
GLP-1 drugs imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and increase satiety so people consume fewer calories.
Individuals commonly begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Studies points to people may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the medication, because their normal hunger come back.
To be above a healthy weight raises your risk for developing diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some malignancies.
Obesity concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
