Under one in 10 individuals eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy can access them, warns the World Health Organization as it releases its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
With over a billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments.
Per projections, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidance acknowledges that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with comprehensive and lifelong care," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are significant barriers to widespread availability to the jabs that can help people shift considerable weight, explains the organization.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Despite the current most optimistic scenario, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover approximately 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to increase access, via measures like voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Work
The injections replicate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and increase feelings of fullness so users eat less.
People typically start to lose weight after several weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Studies indicates people may see weight return a year later of discontinuing the drug, when their typical appetite return.
To be carrying excess weight raises your likelihood for experiencing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Obesity concerns people in countries worldwide and was linked to millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
