Under 10% of people that would benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy have access to them, caution the World Health Organization as it issues its initial guidance on the drugs.
Given more than one billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
According to forecasts, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with comprehensive and lifelong treatment," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are major hurdles to widespread access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, notes the agency.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even under the present best projected outlook, the manufacturing of such drugs might only reach approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, according to the health organization.
The advice urges countries and companies to widen access, via strategies including voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main ingredient of a leading brand – is due to expire in a number of countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Work
These medications mimick a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and boost the sense of being full so individuals eat less.
Individuals commonly begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Evidence points to patients may see weight return after a year of halting the treatment, because their usual hunger return.
To be above a healthy weight increases your chance for contracting medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Excess weight affects individuals in all nations and was linked to millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
