Fewer than 10% of patients eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy are able to get them, states the World Health Organization as it issues its first recommendations on the drugs.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging increased and just availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our latest guidelines affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be managed with thorough and continuous treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant barriers to widespread availability to the jabs that can help people shift significant weight, notes the agency.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even under the current most favorable scenario, the manufacturing of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to widen access, via measures like licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the main component of a leading brand – is due to expire in several nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Drugs Operate
These medications replicate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and increase the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.
Individuals commonly begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Research suggests people may see weight return a year later of halting the drug, when their normal hunger return.
Being overweight or obese increases your chance for contracting diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight impacts individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
