Fewer than 10% of people who could benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy are able to get them, caution the global health agency as it issues its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
Per projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with thorough and continuous support," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are key obstacles to broad access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, notes the body.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even in the present best projected outlook, the manufacturing of such drugs might only reach around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The advice urges governments and firms to expand availability, via measures like patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple countries in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Work
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and boost satiety so individuals reduce food intake.
Patients typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Evidence points to users may regain a significant portion within a year of discontinuing the treatment, as their usual hunger return.
Being carrying excess weight increases your risk for contracting health problems, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Obesity impacts individuals in every country and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
