Fewer than one in 10 individuals that would benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it releases its initial advice on the drugs.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
Per forecasts, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be managed with thorough and continuous care," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are major barriers to broad availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, says the body.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even in the present most optimistic case, the supply of GLP-1 therapies could only cover approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The advice encourages governments and firms to increase access, via measures like licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in several nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Work
GLP-1 drugs imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and increase feelings of fullness so individuals eat less.
Individuals usually begin shedding pounds after several weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Studies points to patients may see weight return after a year of stopping the drug, as their typical hunger resume.
Being above a healthy weight elevates your likelihood for contracting diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Excess weight concerns individuals in every country and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
