Less than one in 10 patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy are able to get them, states the World Health Organization as it releases its initial advice on the drugs.
Given over a billion people worldwide currently obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on estimates, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines recognises that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with holistic and continuous treatment," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are major obstacles to universal availability to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, notes the body.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even under the present best projected scenario, the supply of these medications would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The advice urges governments and firms to increase availability, by measures like licensing agreements.
A patent on a key compound – the primary component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and boost the sense of being full so users eat less.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Studies points to patients may regain a significant portion a year later of stopping the treatment, as their usual hunger come back.
To be above a healthy weight increases your likelihood for contracting medical conditions, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Obesity concerns people in all nations and was linked to 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
