Under one in 10 individuals eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it releases its inaugural advice on the medications.
Given over a billion people worldwide now obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
According to forecasts, over two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with holistic and lifelong treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are significant obstacles to widespread availability to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing substantial body mass, notes the organization.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even under the present most optimistic scenario, the production of these medications might only reach around 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The advice encourages countries and companies to increase access, via measures including patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Function
These medications replicate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and boost the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories.
Patients commonly begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Studies points to users may see weight return a year later of discontinuing the medication, as their normal hunger come back.
To be above a healthy weight increases your risk for experiencing medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain cancers.
Obesity impacts individuals in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
