Fewer than one in 10 patients that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy have access to them, caution the WHO as it releases its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
Per estimates, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with holistic and continuous treatment," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are key hurdles to universal availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing substantial weight, notes the organization.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Despite the present most favorable outlook, the manufacturing of these medications could only cover around 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The recommendation calls on nations and manufacturers to expand availability, via strategies such as voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the main ingredient of a leading brand – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Operate
The injections mimick a natural hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and boost satiety so individuals consume fewer calories.
Individuals typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence indicates people may see weight return a year later of halting the treatment, because their normal appetite return.
To be above a healthy weight raises your risk for contracting medical conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight impacts individuals in all nations and was responsible for 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
