Under a tenth of patients that would benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy are able to get them, caution the WHO as it issues its first advice on the drugs.
Considering over a billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is advocating for increased and just availability to this class of drugs.
Based on estimates, over two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and ongoing treatment," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are significant hurdles to broad access to the injections that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, explains the body.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even in the current most optimistic case, the production of such drugs would only suffice for around 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.
The recommendation calls on countries and companies to expand availability, through measures like licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Function
These medications imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so users reduce food intake.
Individuals commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Evidence indicates users may put most of the weight back on after a year of discontinuing the treatment, when their normal hunger resume.
Being overweight or obese raises your risk for experiencing health problems, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Obesity affects individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
