Fewer than 10% of patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy are able to get them, states the global health agency as it publishes its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
According to projections, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our latest guidelines affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be addressed with thorough and ongoing treatment," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are key hurdles to universal availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, explains the body.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even under the current best projected outlook, the supply of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for about 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The guideline urges countries and companies to widen availability, via measures including patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Work
The injections replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and increase feelings of fullness so individuals reduce food intake.
People commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Studies points to users may regain a significant portion after a year of discontinuing the treatment, because their usual appetite come back.
To be carrying excess weight elevates your likelihood for developing diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
