Under a tenth of people eligible to benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy can access them, states the WHO as it releases its inaugural guidance on the therapies.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now obese, it is urging broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
According to projections, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidelines recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be addressed with holistic and lifelong treatment," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant obstacles to broad availability to the injections that can help people shift considerable body mass, says the agency.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even in the present most optimistic case, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies could only cover about 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, per the health organization.
The recommendation calls on countries and companies to widen availability, via measures like voluntary licensing.
A patent on semaglutide – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Operate
GLP-1 drugs mimick a body's own hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and increase the sense of being full so people reduce food intake.
Patients commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Research points to users may see weight return within a year of discontinuing the treatment, because their typical appetite resume.
Being overweight or obese increases your likelihood for experiencing health problems, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain cancers.
Obesity impacts individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
