Under one in 10 patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.
With more than one billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
According to projections, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidelines recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with thorough and continuous support," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are key obstacles to widespread availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, notes the organization.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even in the current best projected case, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for around 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The advice calls on countries and companies to expand availability, via approaches such as patent sharing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Operate
GLP-1 drugs mimick a body's own hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so people eat less.
Individuals usually see weight reduction in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence indicates patients may see weight return after a year of halting the treatment, when their usual hunger come back.
To be overweight or obese increases your likelihood for developing diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific cancers.
Obesity impacts people in every country and was linked to 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
