Under one in 10 individuals that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy are able to get them, caution the World Health Organization as it issues its first guidance on the therapies.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to projections, over two billion could be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidelines recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be addressed with holistic and ongoing care," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are major obstacles to universal availability to the injections that can help people shift considerable weight, says the agency.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even under the present best projected case, the manufacturing of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The guideline encourages nations and manufacturers to expand access, by measures such as patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the core component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Operate
These medications replicate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and increase feelings of fullness so people reduce food intake.
Patients usually see weight reduction in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Evidence suggests patients may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the treatment, as their normal food cravings come back.
Being carrying excess weight raises your chance for developing health problems, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight affects people in every country and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
