Less than a tenth of patients that would benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy can access them, states the World Health Organization as it issues its inaugural advice on the drugs.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to this class of drugs.
Based on projections, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidelines affirms that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with comprehensive and lifelong support," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are significant barriers to universal access to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, notes the agency.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even under the present most favorable outlook, the manufacturing of these medications would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.
The guideline urges nations and manufacturers to widen access, through measures such as patent sharing.
A patent on a key compound – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Operate
These medications replicate a biological compound to slow digestion, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so users eat less.
People typically begin shedding pounds after several weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Research points to people may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the drug, because their typical appetite resume.
To be overweight or obese raises your chance for experiencing medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific cancers.
Excess weight impacts people in all nations and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
