Under a tenth of individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it issues its initial recommendations on the medications.
Given over a billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on forecasts, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidance recognises that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with thorough and continuous care," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key obstacles to universal access to the injections that can help people shift considerable weight, notes the body.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even under the current best projected outlook, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The advice encourages governments and firms to increase availability, via strategies such as patent sharing.
A patent on semaglutide – the core component of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in several nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Drugs Operate
GLP-1 drugs mimick a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so users eat less.
Individuals usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Studies indicates users may see weight return within a year of stopping the treatment, when their typical hunger resume.
Being overweight or obese raises your chance for contracting medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
