Less than 10% of people eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy are able to get them, states the World Health Organization as it publishes its initial guidance on the drugs.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for increased and just availability to these injectable treatments.
According to forecasts, more than two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidelines affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with holistic and ongoing support," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are key hurdles to universal availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing substantial weight, says the body.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even under the current most optimistic scenario, the supply of these medications might only reach about 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the health organization.
The guideline calls on countries and companies to increase availability, via approaches such as patent sharing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Operate
These medications imitate a biological compound to slow digestion, reduce hunger and boost satiety so people eat less.
Patients typically start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research indicates patients may regain a significant portion a year later of stopping the medication, because their typical hunger come back.
Being above a healthy weight increases your chance for experiencing diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific cancers.
Excess weight concerns individuals in all nations and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
