Less than 10% of patients eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are able to get them, caution the World Health Organization as it publishes its inaugural advice on the medications.
Given more than one billion people worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
According to projections, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidance affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be addressed with thorough and continuous support," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are key barriers to broad availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, notes the body.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even under the present most favorable scenario, the manufacturing of these medications would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, according to the health organization.
The recommendation urges governments and firms to widen access, through measures such as licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the main component of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in several countries in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Operate
GLP-1 drugs imitate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so users reduce food intake.
Individuals typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Studies points to patients may see weight return within a year of stopping the drug, because their normal food cravings return.
To be carrying excess weight raises your risk for developing medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight impacts individuals in every country and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
