Less than one in 10 patients eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the therapies.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for increased and just access to this class of drugs.
According to forecasts, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our latest guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be addressed with comprehensive and continuous treatment," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are key barriers to universal access to the treatments that can help people shift significant weight, notes the organization.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even in the present most favorable scenario, the supply of these medications would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the WHO.
The advice urges countries and companies to widen access, via strategies such as voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Operate
These medications replicate a natural hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and boost feelings of fullness so people eat less.
People usually see weight reduction after several weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence suggests people may see weight return a year later of discontinuing the drug, as their usual food cravings resume.
To be carrying excess weight increases your risk for contracting medical conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Obesity affects people in countries worldwide and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
