Less than one in 10 people who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy have access to them, states the World Health Organization as it publishes its initial advice on the therapies.
Given over a billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to this class of drugs.
According to estimates, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with comprehensive and continuous treatment," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are significant barriers to universal availability to the jabs that can help people shift substantial body mass, explains the organization.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even under the present most optimistic case, the supply of these medications could only cover about 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, per the health organization.
The advice calls on countries and companies to widen access, via strategies including voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Function
GLP-1 drugs mimick a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and boost satiety so people eat less.
Patients typically start to lose weight within a few weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Studies points to people may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the drug, as their usual appetite resume.
To be above a healthy weight increases your chance for developing health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight affects individuals in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
