Fewer than a tenth of people eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy are able to get them, states the WHO as it publishes its initial recommendations on the medications.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is urging increased and just availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with thorough and continuous care," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are major barriers to universal availability to the jabs that can help people shift considerable body mass, notes the agency.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even under the current most favorable scenario, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies could only cover around 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The recommendation encourages governments and firms to widen availability, via approaches like patent sharing.
A patent on semaglutide – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Operate
These medications mimick a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and increase the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories.
Patients commonly start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Studies points to users may see weight return after a year of discontinuing the medication, as their usual food cravings come back.
To be above a healthy weight raises your likelihood for developing diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight affects people in every country and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
