Fewer than one in 10 people that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its first recommendations on the medications.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
Per projections, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with comprehensive and lifelong care," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are major obstacles to universal availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing substantial weight, explains the organization.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even under the current best projected scenario, the supply of these medications would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The recommendation calls on nations and manufacturers to expand availability, through measures such as licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Work
These medications replicate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and increase satiety so people eat less.
Individuals usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Research points to users may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the treatment, because their typical appetite return.
Being above a healthy weight increases your chance for contracting medical conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was linked to 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
