Under one in 10 people who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the global health agency as it releases its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is urging broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
Based on projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and ongoing care," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are major hurdles to universal availability to the jabs that can help people shift significant body mass, says the organization.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even in the present most optimistic scenario, the production of such drugs could only cover approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline calls on countries and companies to widen access, by approaches such as licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Work
These medications imitate a natural hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and boost the sense of being full so people reduce food intake.
People typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence indicates users may regain a significant portion a year later of halting the treatment, because their normal food cravings come back.
To be above a healthy weight raises your chance for experiencing health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight impacts people in countries worldwide and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
