Fewer than a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy are able to get them, caution the WHO as it releases its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
According to estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our latest guidance recognises that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with thorough and continuous support," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are key barriers to universal availability to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing considerable weight, says the organization.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even under the present most optimistic case, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, according to the health organization.
The advice encourages countries and companies to expand access, by measures including voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and boost satiety so users eat less.
People usually see weight reduction in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Evidence suggests patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the drug, as their typical hunger resume.
To be above a healthy weight raises your chance for developing medical conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Excess weight affects individuals in every country and was associated with over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
