Under 10% of individuals who could benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy are able to get them, states the global health agency as it issues its first advice on the therapies.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on projections, over two billion will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidelines affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with comprehensive and ongoing treatment," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are major hurdles to broad access to the treatments that can help people shift significant body mass, explains the agency.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Despite the current best projected case, the supply of these medications would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The recommendation encourages nations and manufacturers to expand access, through strategies including voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in several countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Function
These medications mimick a body's own hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and increase the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence suggests people may regain a significant portion after a year of discontinuing the drug, because their normal appetite come back.
To be carrying excess weight increases your chance for developing diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain cancers.
Excess weight concerns individuals in every country and was linked to 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
