Fewer than 10% of people who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it issues its inaugural advice on the therapies.
Considering more than one billion people worldwide currently obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
Per projections, over two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our latest guidelines affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be addressed with comprehensive and ongoing support," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are key barriers to universal access to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, explains the body.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even in the current best projected case, the production of such drugs could only cover around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The advice encourages nations and manufacturers to increase access, by strategies including licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary component of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Function
The injections replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and increase feelings of fullness so people reduce food intake.
People usually start to lose weight in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence indicates people may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the medication, when their typical hunger return.
Being overweight or obese raises your chance for developing health problems, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Excess weight impacts individuals in countries worldwide and was linked to millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
