Fewer than a tenth of patients that would benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy are able to get them, states the World Health Organization as it releases its first guidance on the therapies.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.
According to forecasts, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with holistic and continuous care," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are major obstacles to widespread access to the injections that can help people shift considerable body mass, explains the body.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Despite the current most favorable outlook, the production of GLP-1 therapies might only reach about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the health organization.
The advice encourages nations and manufacturers to increase access, via approaches such as patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Work
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and boost satiety so people consume fewer calories.
Patients commonly begin shedding pounds after several weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Research points to people may see weight return a year later of discontinuing the medication, when their normal appetite resume.
To be carrying excess weight raises your risk for contracting health problems, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Obesity impacts people in every country and was responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
