Fewer than 10% of patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its initial guidance on the drugs.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for increased and just availability to this class of drugs.
Per projections, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with holistic and ongoing care," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant hurdles to widespread availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, explains the agency.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Despite the present most favorable scenario, the manufacturing of these medications might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The advice urges countries and companies to increase availability, via measures such as voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Function
These medications imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and increase the sense of being full so users eat less.
People commonly begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Evidence indicates users may regain a significant portion within a year of discontinuing the medication, as their usual food cravings come back.
To be above a healthy weight raises your chance for developing health problems, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight affects individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
