Less than one in 10 people eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, caution the WHO as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
Given more than one billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging broader and more equitable access to this class of drugs.
Per projections, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidance affirms that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with holistic and continuous treatment," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are key hurdles to broad access to the jabs that can help people shift substantial weight, notes the agency.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Despite the present most optimistic scenario, the supply of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The guideline calls on countries and companies to widen access, via approaches like licensing agreements.
A patent on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Work
GLP-1 drugs imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so people eat less.
People commonly begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research indicates users may put most of the weight back on a year later of stopping the medication, because their normal hunger come back.
Being carrying excess weight raises your risk for contracting health problems, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in all nations and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
