Fewer than a tenth of individuals eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the global health agency as it publishes its first guidance on the medications.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
According to forecasts, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidelines affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with comprehensive and continuous treatment," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are major hurdles to broad availability to the treatments that can help people shift significant weight, says the body.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Despite the current most optimistic case, the supply of GLP-1 therapies might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The guideline encourages countries and companies to increase availability, via strategies like patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the main ingredient of a leading brand – is due to expire in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Function
The injections replicate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and increase the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.
Patients commonly begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Studies points to users may see weight return after a year of halting the medication, as their typical food cravings come back.
To be overweight or obese elevates your chance for developing diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Obesity affects individuals in every country and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
