Fewer than 10% of individuals who could benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy have access to them, caution the World Health Organization as it releases its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments.
According to projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and continuous support," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are major hurdles to widespread access to the injections that can aid individuals in losing considerable weight, explains the agency.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even in the current most favorable case, the supply of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the health organization.
The advice urges governments and firms to widen access, through approaches like patent sharing.
A patent on semaglutide – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Work
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and enhance feelings of fullness so people reduce food intake.
People commonly see weight reduction after several weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Evidence suggests users may see weight return within a year of stopping the drug, because their usual food cravings resume.
To be overweight or obese raises your risk for experiencing medical conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Obesity impacts people in all nations and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
