Fewer than one in 10 individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy have access to them, caution the global health agency as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the therapies.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
According to forecasts, over two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidance recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and ongoing care," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key hurdles to broad availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing significant weight, notes the body.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even in the current most favorable outlook, the manufacturing of such drugs might only reach approximately 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, as stated by the health organization.
The recommendation urges governments and firms to increase availability, via measures including voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Operate
The injections mimick a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and enhance the sense of being full so people eat less.
Individuals usually start to lose weight after several weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Studies indicates users may put most of the weight back on a year later of discontinuing the medication, when their typical food cravings resume.
To be overweight or obese raises your risk for developing health problems, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Obesity impacts people in countries worldwide and was linked to millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
