Fewer than a tenth of people eligible to benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy can access them, states the global health agency as it publishes its initial advice on the therapies.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to this class of drugs.
According to forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidance affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and continuous support," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are major obstacles to broad availability to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, notes the agency.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Despite the present most optimistic scenario, the supply of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, per the health organization.
The advice urges governments and firms to increase access, by strategies like voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Operate
GLP-1 drugs mimick a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and enhance satiety so individuals consume fewer calories.
People commonly see weight reduction within a few weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Research points to people may regain a significant portion a year later of halting the drug, because their normal appetite return.
To be above a healthy weight elevates your risk for experiencing health problems, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Obesity concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
