Fewer than a tenth of patients that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it issues its initial recommendations on the therapies.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is urging increased and just availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on forecasts, more than two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our new guidelines affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with thorough and ongoing care," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are major hurdles to broad availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, says the body.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even under the current most optimistic case, the production of such drugs would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, according to the health organization.
The recommendation urges governments and firms to expand availability, by approaches such as voluntary licensing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of a leading brand – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Operate
These medications replicate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and increase satiety so users eat less.
Patients usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Evidence indicates patients may see weight return within a year of halting the treatment, when their typical food cravings come back.
To be overweight or obese raises your risk for experiencing diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight impacts individuals in every country and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
