Less than one in 10 individuals that would benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy can access them, states the World Health Organization as it issues its first recommendations on the medications.
Given more than one billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to this class of drugs.
According to estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will 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 holistic and continuous care," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are major hurdles to universal availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing substantial weight, explains the agency.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even under the present best projected outlook, the supply of GLP-1 therapies might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.
The advice urges countries and companies to increase access, via approaches including voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Function
These medications mimick a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and boost satiety so users reduce food intake.
People typically see weight reduction in the initial weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Research points to users may regain a significant portion a year later of discontinuing the medication, as their normal hunger resume.
Being overweight or obese elevates your likelihood for developing medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Obesity impacts individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
