Fewer than a tenth of people who could benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy can access them, states the global health agency as it publishes its initial recommendations on the therapies.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is calling for increased and just access to this class of drugs.
According to projections, over two billion will be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidance affirms that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with comprehensive and lifelong support," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are key hurdles to universal availability to the jabs that can help people shift substantial body mass, explains the organization.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Despite the current best projected scenario, the manufacturing of such drugs could only cover around 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The guideline encourages countries and companies to increase access, by approaches including patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Work
GLP-1 drugs imitate a natural hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so people reduce food intake.
Patients commonly begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Evidence points to users may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the medication, as their typical food cravings come back.
To be above a healthy weight raises your likelihood for developing diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Excess weight affects people in countries worldwide and was linked to over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
