Fewer than 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy can access them, warns the World Health Organization as it issues its inaugural advice on the drugs.
Given more than one billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with comprehensive and lifelong support," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are major barriers to broad availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, says the body.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even under the current most favorable outlook, the production of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the WHO.
The recommendation encourages countries and companies to increase availability, by approaches such as patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the main ingredient of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Work
GLP-1 drugs imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so users consume fewer calories.
Individuals usually see weight reduction within a few weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Studies indicates people may see weight return a year later of halting the treatment, because their normal appetite return.
Being carrying excess weight increases your chance for developing medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Obesity concerns people in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
