Less than 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy can access them, warns the World Health Organization as it releases its initial advice on the drugs.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
According to estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with comprehensive and lifelong support," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are key hurdles to broad availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing considerable weight, says the organization.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even under the current most optimistic outlook, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies could only cover about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The advice encourages governments and firms to expand availability, through measures like voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Work
GLP-1 drugs imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and increase satiety so individuals eat less.
People commonly start to lose weight within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Studies indicates users may see weight return within a year of stopping the drug, as their typical food cravings resume.
To be overweight or obese elevates your chance for contracting medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Obesity impacts people in countries worldwide and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
