Less than a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy can access them, states the global health agency as it issues its first guidance on the medications.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Per projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidance recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with thorough and continuous treatment," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are key hurdles to universal availability to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, says the organization.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Despite the current best projected case, the manufacturing of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, according to the health organization.
The advice calls on governments and firms to increase access, by strategies like patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the primary component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Work
GLP-1 drugs mimick a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so individuals reduce food intake.
Patients commonly start to lose weight after several weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence indicates people may see weight return after a year of halting the treatment, as their usual hunger resume.
Being carrying excess weight elevates your likelihood for developing diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight concerns people in all nations and was responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
