Less than one in 10 patients eligible to benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy have access to them, caution the global health agency as it releases its initial advice on the therapies.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
According to forecasts, over two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidance affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and lifelong treatment," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant barriers to universal access to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant weight, explains the body.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Despite the current most favorable scenario, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover about 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to widen access, through approaches like licensing agreements.
A patent on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Operate
GLP-1 drugs imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so individuals eat less.
Patients usually see weight reduction in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Studies points to people may see weight return a year later of discontinuing the medication, when their usual appetite return.
To be above a healthy weight raises your chance for developing medical conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight affects people in every country and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
