Less than one in 10 people eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, states the World Health Organization as it publishes its initial advice on the medications.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments.
Per estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and lifelong treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are major obstacles to broad availability to the treatments that can help people shift substantial body mass, says the body.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even in the present most optimistic scenario, the manufacturing of such drugs would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The guideline encourages countries and companies to expand availability, through strategies like voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Injections Operate
GLP-1 drugs replicate a biological compound to slow digestion, curb appetite and increase satiety so users reduce food intake.
People commonly begin shedding pounds after several weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Evidence indicates users may regain a significant portion within a year of halting the drug, when their normal food cravings resume.
Being above a healthy weight elevates your chance for experiencing diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Obesity impacts individuals in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
