Under one in 10 patients eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it releases its first guidance on the medications.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently obese, it is calling for increased and just access to these injectable treatments.
According to projections, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our latest guidance recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and lifelong support," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are key obstacles to broad availability to the injections that can help people shift considerable body mass, explains the organization.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even under the present best projected outlook, the manufacturing of such drugs could only cover around 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The advice urges governments and firms to increase availability, via approaches such as voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Operate
GLP-1 drugs replicate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories.
People commonly start to lose weight within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Studies points to users may see weight return a year later of halting the medication, when their usual food cravings come back.
To be above a healthy weight raises your likelihood for experiencing health problems, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers.
Excess weight affects people in countries worldwide and was linked to over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
