Less than 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, caution the global health agency as it issues its initial advice on the drugs.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.
Based on projections, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with comprehensive and continuous support," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are significant barriers to broad availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable weight, notes the agency.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even under the current most optimistic case, the manufacturing of these medications could only cover about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the health organization.
The advice encourages governments and firms to expand access, through strategies including licensing agreements.
A patent on semaglutide – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Operate
The injections mimick a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and increase the sense of being full so users consume fewer calories.
Patients usually see weight reduction in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Studies indicates patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of discontinuing the drug, because their usual appetite resume.
Being overweight or obese increases your chance for developing diseases, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some cancers.
Obesity affects people in every country and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
