Under a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, states the global health agency as it issues its first recommendations on the therapies.
Considering more than one billion people worldwide currently obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
According to projections, over two billion will be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be addressed with comprehensive and lifelong care," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are key barriers to universal availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, notes the organization.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even in the present best projected outlook, the supply of these medications might only reach approximately 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The advice encourages countries and companies to widen availability, by measures including licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a biological compound to slow digestion, curb appetite and enhance satiety so people consume fewer calories.
Patients typically start to lose weight within a few weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Research suggests people may regain a significant portion after a year of stopping the drug, because their normal food cravings resume.
To be above a healthy weight elevates your chance for experiencing diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Obesity affects people in all nations and was linked to over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
