Under one in 10 people who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, caution the WHO as it issues its first recommendations on the therapies.
With more than one billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
Per estimates, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidelines affirms that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with thorough and continuous treatment," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are major barriers to widespread availability to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, notes the organization.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even under the current most optimistic outlook, the manufacturing of such drugs could only cover around 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The advice urges countries and companies to widen access, through strategies such as licensing agreements.
A patent on a key compound – the main component of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Injections Operate
These medications imitate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so individuals reduce food intake.
Patients usually start to lose weight in the initial weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Studies points to people may see weight return a year later of stopping the medication, when their usual hunger come back.
To be carrying excess weight elevates your risk for developing medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Excess weight concerns people in every country and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
