Fewer than 10% of individuals who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy can access them, warns the World Health Organization as it releases its first guidance on the therapies.
With over a billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
Based on estimates, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidance affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with holistic and lifelong support," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key obstacles to universal access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, explains the agency.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even under the present most optimistic scenario, the supply of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, according to the health organization.
The advice calls on countries and companies to widen availability, via approaches such as voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several countries in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Work
These medications imitate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and increase feelings of fullness so users consume fewer calories.
Patients usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence suggests people may see weight return a year later of discontinuing the drug, when their typical food cravings return.
To be carrying excess weight increases your chance for contracting health problems, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight impacts individuals in every country and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
