Under a tenth of patients who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are able to get them, caution the global health agency as it issues its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.
With more than one billion people worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for increased and just availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on projections, over two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be addressed with holistic and ongoing treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are major barriers to universal availability to the injections that can help people shift substantial weight, explains the organization.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even in the current most favorable outlook, the production of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for about 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to expand access, via measures including patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Injections Function
These medications imitate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and increase feelings of fullness so people consume fewer calories.
Patients usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Studies indicates users may regain a significant portion within a year of stopping the medication, when their usual hunger come back.
To be carrying excess weight raises your chance for developing medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight concerns people in countries worldwide and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
