Under a tenth of people eligible to benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy have access to them, warns the global health agency as it issues its inaugural advice on the drugs.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to this class of drugs.
Based on estimates, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with comprehensive and ongoing treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are major barriers to widespread availability to the jabs that can help people shift substantial weight, says the agency.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even in the current most optimistic outlook, the manufacturing of these medications could only cover about 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The recommendation calls on countries and companies to widen access, by strategies like patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Work
GLP-1 drugs replicate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and boost feelings of fullness so people consume fewer calories.
Patients usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence points to people may regain a significant portion a year later of halting the treatment, when their typical appetite return.
To be overweight or obese increases your risk for contracting medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
