Fewer than one in 10 individuals who could benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy have access to them, states the global health agency as it publishes its initial recommendations on the drugs.
Given more than one billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our latest guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with thorough and lifelong support," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are key hurdles to universal availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, explains the agency.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Despite the present best projected outlook, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.
The recommendation encourages countries and companies to widen availability, through measures such as patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and increase the sense of being full so users consume fewer calories.
People commonly start to lose weight after several weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence suggests patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the medication, when their typical food cravings return.
To be carrying excess weight increases your risk for developing health problems, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain cancers.
Excess weight impacts people in every country and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
