Fewer than a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, states the global health agency as it publishes its inaugural advice on the medications.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is urging increased and just availability to this class of drugs.
According to forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our latest guidance affirms that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with holistic and lifelong care," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are major hurdles to broad access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, notes the organization.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even in the present most favorable case, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to increase availability, by approaches like voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the main component of a leading brand – is due to expire in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Injections Operate
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and enhance the sense of being full so users eat less.
People commonly start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Research suggests patients may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the treatment, when their usual food cravings resume.
Being carrying excess weight increases your chance for developing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight affects people in all nations and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
