Less than 10% of patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it issues its initial guidance on the medications.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
Per forecasts, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidance acknowledges that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with holistic and ongoing treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are key barriers to broad access to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant weight, explains the body.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even under the present most optimistic scenario, the supply of GLP-1 therapies might only reach approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.
The advice calls on governments and firms to increase access, via measures like patent sharing.
A patent on semaglutide – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Operate
These medications replicate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and boost the sense of being full so people eat less.
Patients usually see weight reduction in the initial weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Studies indicates patients may see weight return within a year of discontinuing the medication, as their typical appetite resume.
To be carrying excess weight increases your likelihood for contracting health problems, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Excess weight affects individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
