Less than one in 10 individuals eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy are able to get them, states the global health agency as it releases its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is advocating for increased and just access to these injectable treatments.
Per projections, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with holistic and lifelong treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant barriers to universal availability to the treatments that can help people shift considerable body mass, explains the agency.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even in the current most optimistic scenario, the production of such drugs could only cover about 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The recommendation urges countries and companies to widen access, through strategies like patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Function
These medications replicate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and increase satiety so people eat less.
Individuals typically start to lose weight after several weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Studies suggests people may regain a significant portion within a year of discontinuing the treatment, when their normal appetite come back.
Being carrying excess weight raises your chance for experiencing diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific cancers.
Excess weight affects individuals in every country and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
