Fewer than 10% of people who could benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the therapies.
Given over a billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on forecasts, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidance affirms that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with holistic and continuous support," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are major obstacles to broad availability to the jabs that can help people shift considerable body mass, says the organization.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even in the present most favorable scenario, the manufacturing of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The advice encourages governments and firms to widen availability, through strategies including patent sharing.
A patent on semaglutide – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in several nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Function
The injections replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and boost satiety so individuals consume fewer calories.
Patients commonly begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Research indicates patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the medication, as their normal appetite return.
To be carrying excess weight raises your risk for experiencing health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight affects individuals in all nations and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
