Under a tenth of patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy are able to get them, warns the global health agency as it releases its initial recommendations on the therapies.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
According to forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and continuous treatment," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are key hurdles to widespread availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, notes the body.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Despite the present most favorable case, the production of such drugs could only cover about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The guideline encourages countries and companies to expand access, through strategies including patent sharing.
A patent on a key compound – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Operate
The injections replicate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and boost feelings of fullness so individuals consume fewer calories.
People commonly see weight reduction in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Research indicates people may see weight return after a year of discontinuing the drug, as their typical food cravings come back.
Being carrying excess weight raises your likelihood for experiencing health problems, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
