Fewer than a tenth of patients who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy have access to them, warns the WHO as it publishes its first guidance on the medications.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
Based on forecasts, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be addressed with comprehensive and ongoing support," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are key barriers to universal access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, notes the agency.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even in the current most favorable scenario, the manufacturing of such drugs would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.
The guideline urges governments and firms to widen availability, by strategies including licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core component of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Operate
GLP-1 drugs replicate a natural hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and boost satiety so users eat less.
Patients commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Studies suggests patients may put most of the weight back on a year later of stopping the drug, when their normal hunger come back.
Being above a healthy weight increases your chance for developing health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Excess weight impacts people in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
