Fewer than 10% of patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
Given more than one billion people worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
Based on forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our latest guidance acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be addressed with comprehensive and ongoing treatment," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are significant hurdles to universal access to the jabs that can help people shift significant body mass, notes the body.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even in the present most optimistic outlook, the supply of such drugs would only suffice for about 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.
The recommendation encourages countries and companies to increase access, through approaches such as licensing agreements.
A patent on a key compound – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Function
The injections replicate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so users consume fewer calories.
People commonly begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Studies points to people may regain a significant portion a year later of stopping the drug, when their normal food cravings return.
To be carrying excess weight increases your chance for experiencing diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Obesity affects individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
