Fewer than a tenth of patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, caution the global health agency as it releases its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Per projections, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidance affirms that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with comprehensive and ongoing care," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are major obstacles to broad availability to the treatments that can help people shift considerable body mass, notes the organization.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Despite the present most optimistic case, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.
The recommendation calls on nations and manufacturers to expand availability, through strategies including patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary component of a leading brand – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Operate
These medications replicate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and increase satiety so people consume fewer calories.
People typically begin shedding pounds after several weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence suggests patients may put most of the weight back on a year later of discontinuing the treatment, because their normal food cravings resume.
Being overweight or obese increases your likelihood for developing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some cancers.
Excess weight affects people in all nations and was responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
