Less than one in 10 individuals that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy have access to them, caution the World Health Organization as it releases its first advice on the drugs.
Given over a billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for increased and just access to this class of drugs.
Per projections, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our latest guidelines affirms that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with comprehensive and lifelong support," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are significant obstacles to widespread availability to the injections that can help people shift significant weight, says the body.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even in the present most optimistic outlook, the supply of these medications might only reach about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The guideline calls on countries and companies to expand access, via strategies such as patent sharing.
A patent on a key compound – the main component of a leading brand – is due to expire in several nations in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Function
The injections imitate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and increase the sense of being full so people reduce food intake.
Patients commonly start to lose weight after several weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Evidence points to people may regain a significant portion a year later of discontinuing the treatment, because their usual food cravings resume.
To be overweight or obese raises your likelihood for developing medical conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Excess weight affects people in every country and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
