Less than one in 10 patients that would benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the global health agency as it releases its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
Per estimates, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with thorough and continuous care," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are key barriers to universal access to the injections that can help people shift considerable weight, explains the agency.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even under the present most optimistic case, the production of such drugs might only reach around 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The advice urges governments and firms to increase access, through approaches like patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the primary component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Operate
The injections imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so people eat less.
People typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence points to patients may see weight return after a year of stopping the medication, when their usual food cravings return.
Being above a healthy weight raises your risk for contracting medical conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight affects people in all nations and was responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
