Less than 10% of people eligible to benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy are able to get them, caution the World Health Organization as it issues its first recommendations on the medications.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is urging broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
Per forecasts, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our latest guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with holistic and ongoing support," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are significant barriers to universal availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, notes the organization.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even in the present most optimistic scenario, the supply of these medications could only cover around 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, per the health organization.
The guideline calls on nations and manufacturers to increase access, via measures including licensing agreements.
A patent on a key compound – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Drugs Operate
GLP-1 drugs mimick a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and increase satiety so individuals eat less.
People typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Studies points to patients may regain a significant portion within a year of stopping the drug, because their normal food cravings resume.
To be above a healthy weight elevates your likelihood for developing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight impacts people in countries worldwide and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
