Under one in 10 patients who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it issues its first guidance on the therapies.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
Based on forecasts, over two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidelines affirms that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with thorough and lifelong support," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are major hurdles to universal access to the injections that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, explains the organization.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even in the current most optimistic case, the manufacturing of these medications could only cover about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO.
The recommendation urges nations and manufacturers to widen access, through approaches like patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of a leading brand – is due to expire in several nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so people eat less.
Individuals usually see weight reduction in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Evidence indicates people may put most of the weight back on a year later of halting the drug, when their typical food cravings resume.
Being overweight or obese increases your likelihood for contracting medical conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight impacts individuals in all nations and was linked to millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
