Less than one in 10 patients who could benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy have access to them, states the WHO as it issues its initial guidance on the therapies.
Given over a billion people worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging increased and just access to these injectable treatments.
Based on projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with thorough and ongoing support," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant hurdles to broad availability to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, explains the body.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even in the current most favorable outlook, the production of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The advice urges countries and companies to increase availability, by strategies like licensing agreements.
A patent on semaglutide – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Function
These medications mimick a natural hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and boost the sense of being full so people reduce food intake.
Patients usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Evidence indicates users may see weight return within a year of halting the medication, because their usual appetite resume.
To be above a healthy weight increases your risk for contracting medical conditions, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific cancers.
Obesity affects people in all nations and was linked to 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
