Less than a tenth of people that would benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it releases its inaugural recommendations on the therapies.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, over two billion will be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our latest guidelines affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with holistic and ongoing care," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are significant hurdles to universal availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing substantial body mass, notes the agency.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even under the current most optimistic case, the manufacturing of such drugs could only cover about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.
The recommendation encourages governments and firms to expand access, by measures such as licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Function
GLP-1 drugs imitate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and boost satiety so users consume fewer calories.
Individuals usually see weight reduction after several weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Studies indicates people may see weight return within a year of stopping the medication, because their usual hunger return.
Being above a healthy weight raises your chance for developing medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Obesity concerns people in every country and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
