Fewer than a tenth of individuals eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy have access to them, warns the WHO as it issues its inaugural advice on the drugs.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on forecasts, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with comprehensive and lifelong treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are major hurdles to broad access to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing substantial body mass, notes the organization.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Despite the present best projected scenario, the supply of such drugs would only suffice for around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The recommendation calls on governments and firms to expand access, by strategies like licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Work
GLP-1 drugs mimick a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.
People typically start to lose weight after several weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Research indicates people may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the drug, because their usual hunger return.
To be overweight or obese increases your risk for contracting health problems, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Obesity affects individuals in every country and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
