Less than 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy are able to get them, caution the World Health Organization as it issues its first guidance on the drugs.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for increased and just availability to this class of drugs.
Per projections, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidelines affirms that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with comprehensive and lifelong care," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are key obstacles to universal access to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, says the agency.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even in the current most favorable outlook, the manufacturing of these medications might only reach approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, per the health organization.
The guideline calls on nations and manufacturers to widen availability, by approaches including licensing agreements.
A patent on a key compound – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Work
These medications replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and enhance satiety so individuals eat less.
People typically see weight reduction after several weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Research suggests people may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the medication, because their usual food cravings return.
Being overweight or obese increases your chance for developing health problems, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers.
Excess weight concerns people in all nations and was responsible for 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
