Under 10% of people that would benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy have access to them, warns the global health agency as it releases its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
Per estimates, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidance affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and continuous support," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are key obstacles to widespread availability to the treatments that can help people shift substantial weight, explains the body.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Despite the current most optimistic scenario, the production of such drugs would only suffice for about 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The recommendation calls on countries and companies to expand access, by strategies like licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple countries in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Work
GLP-1 drugs imitate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and increase feelings of fullness so users eat less.
Patients commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Studies indicates people may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the treatment, when their normal appetite resume.
To be carrying excess weight raises your chance for experiencing medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Obesity concerns people in every country and was associated with over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
