Under a tenth of people eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the global health agency as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the therapies.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
Based on forecasts, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidance affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with comprehensive and lifelong care," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are significant barriers to widespread availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, says the agency.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even under the current most favorable case, the production of such drugs could only cover approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the WHO.
The advice calls on countries and companies to increase access, through approaches like patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Operate
GLP-1 drugs imitate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and boost the sense of being full so people eat less.
People typically see weight reduction in the initial weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Evidence points to people may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the drug, when their typical appetite resume.
To be overweight or obese increases your risk for experiencing diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Obesity affects people in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
