Under 10% of patients who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are able to get them, caution the WHO as it issues its inaugural guidance on the therapies.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is calling for increased and just availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to projections, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidelines affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and ongoing support," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are major obstacles to broad access to the jabs that can help people shift significant body mass, notes the body.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even under the current most favorable scenario, the manufacturing of these medications could only cover around 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to increase access, via strategies including voluntary licensing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Work
GLP-1 drugs imitate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and boost feelings of fullness so individuals eat less.
Individuals typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to people may put most of the weight back on a year later of halting the drug, when their typical hunger resume.
Being carrying excess weight increases your chance for developing medical conditions, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain cancers.
Obesity affects people in every country and was associated with 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
