Fewer than 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy are able to get them, caution the WHO as it issues its initial advice on the therapies.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.
Per forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidance acknowledges that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with thorough and continuous treatment," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant obstacles to broad access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, explains the body.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even in the current most favorable outlook, the production of these medications could only cover about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The recommendation urges countries and companies to widen access, through strategies like licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Operate
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and boost the sense of being full so individuals eat less.
Patients usually see weight reduction after several weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Studies suggests people may put most of the weight back on a year later of stopping the drug, because their usual appetite return.
To be carrying excess weight increases your risk for developing health problems, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some cancers.
Excess weight impacts people in all nations and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
