Fewer than 10% of patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it releases its first advice on the medications.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for increased and just availability to these injectable treatments.
According to estimates, over two billion will be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidance recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with thorough and continuous support," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are significant hurdles to widespread availability to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, explains the organization.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even under the present most optimistic case, the production of these medications would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.
The recommendation encourages governments and firms to expand availability, by strategies like patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary component of a leading brand – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Work
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so people eat less.
People commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Evidence indicates users may regain a significant portion a year later of stopping the drug, when their typical appetite come back.
Being above a healthy weight increases your chance for experiencing medical conditions, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain cancers.
Excess weight concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was linked to millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
