Less than 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy can access them, caution the WHO as it issues its initial guidance on the therapies.
Considering more than one billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
Based on projections, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with thorough and lifelong treatment," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are key obstacles to universal access to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, says the body.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Despite the current most optimistic case, the supply of these medications could only cover approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The recommendation calls on countries and companies to expand access, via approaches including voluntary licensing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Operate
These medications replicate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and increase the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Studies points to users may regain a significant portion after a year of discontinuing the drug, because their normal appetite resume.
Being above a healthy weight raises your likelihood for developing diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Obesity affects people in all nations and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
