Fewer than one in 10 patients that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy have access to them, states the global health agency as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
With over a billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for increased and just availability to these injectable treatments.
Per forecasts, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidance recognises that obesity is a long-term condition that can be addressed with comprehensive and ongoing support," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are major barriers to universal access to the treatments that can help people shift significant body mass, notes the body.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Despite the present most optimistic case, the production of such drugs could only cover around 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, according to the health organization.
The recommendation calls on countries and companies to expand access, through measures like patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Operate
These medications replicate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and enhance satiety so individuals eat less.
People commonly begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research suggests users may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the medication, as their usual hunger come back.
Being above a healthy weight raises your risk for experiencing diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Obesity concerns people in all nations and was linked to over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
