Under one in 10 patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy have access to them, states the WHO as it issues its inaugural recommendations on the therapies.
With more than one billion people worldwide now obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
According to projections, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance affirms that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with holistic and continuous treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are significant obstacles to universal availability to the treatments that can help people shift substantial body mass, notes the organization.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even in the present most optimistic case, the supply of such drugs would only suffice for around 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, as stated by the health organization.
The guideline urges governments and firms to expand availability, by approaches like voluntary licensing.
A patent on semaglutide – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Work
These medications imitate a biological compound to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and boost the sense of being full so people consume fewer calories.
People usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to users may regain a significant portion a year later of stopping the treatment, because their usual appetite return.
To be above a healthy weight increases your likelihood for contracting health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight affects people in all nations and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.