Fewer than a tenth of individuals who could benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy have access to them, states the global health agency as it publishes its first advice on the medications.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.
Per projections, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our latest guidance recognises that obesity is a long-term condition that can be addressed with holistic and lifelong treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are significant hurdles to universal availability to the treatments that can help people shift substantial body mass, explains the agency.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even under the present most optimistic case, the manufacturing of these medications might only reach around 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to increase access, through strategies such as licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Function
These medications mimick a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and enhance satiety so people reduce food intake.
Individuals typically start to lose weight after several weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Studies points to patients may see weight return a year later of stopping the drug, because their normal food cravings come back.
Being overweight or obese elevates your likelihood for experiencing health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Obesity concerns people in every country and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
