Less than one in 10 patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it issues its first advice on the therapies.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidance affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and ongoing support," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are major hurdles to broad access to the jabs that can help people shift significant weight, says the agency.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even under the current most favorable scenario, the production of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline encourages nations and manufacturers to widen access, by strategies such as licensing agreements.
A patent on a key compound – the primary ingredient of a leading brand – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Injections Operate
These medications replicate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and enhance satiety so people reduce food intake.
Patients commonly start to lose weight after several weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Research indicates people may regain a significant portion after a year of stopping the treatment, as their normal food cravings resume.
Being overweight or obese raises your chance for developing diseases, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight concerns people in all nations and was associated with 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
