Less than one in 10 individuals eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are able to get them, caution the WHO as it issues its first advice on the drugs.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to this class of drugs.
According to forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with holistic and continuous treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are significant hurdles to broad access to the jabs that can help people shift considerable weight, explains the body.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Despite the current best projected scenario, the supply of such drugs might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.
The guideline encourages countries and companies to expand availability, by approaches like voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Work
These medications replicate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and increase the sense of being full so people reduce food intake.
People typically see weight reduction after several weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Research suggests users may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the medication, because their typical hunger come back.
Being carrying excess weight raises your likelihood for developing diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific cancers.
Excess weight concerns people in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
