Fewer than one in 10 people that would benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it issues its first advice on the therapies.
Given over a billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with comprehensive and continuous support," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are significant obstacles to broad access to the injections that can help people shift substantial body mass, explains the body.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even in the present most favorable scenario, the supply of GLP-1 therapies could only cover around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, per the health organization.
The guideline urges countries and companies to increase availability, through approaches such as voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Work
The injections mimick a body's own hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and boost the sense of being full so users consume fewer calories.
Individuals commonly begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Studies points to patients may regain a significant portion a year later of discontinuing the drug, when their normal appetite resume.
Being overweight or obese raises your risk for developing health problems, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight concerns people in countries worldwide and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
