Less than one in 10 people eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, caution the WHO as it releases its inaugural advice on the medications.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
According to estimates, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidance recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with comprehensive and continuous care," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are key obstacles to broad access to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, notes the body.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even in the present best projected case, the supply of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, according to the health organization.
The guideline calls on nations and manufacturers to widen availability, by approaches like voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the core component of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in multiple countries in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Operate
The injections mimick a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and increase the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.
Patients commonly see weight reduction in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Studies points to users may regain a significant portion a year later of discontinuing the treatment, when their normal appetite come back.
To be above a healthy weight raises your risk for experiencing diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight concerns people in every country and was linked to millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
