Fewer than one in 10 patients who could benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it issues its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.
Considering more than one billion people worldwide now classified as obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
Per estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be addressed with comprehensive and continuous treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are major barriers to broad access to the injections that can help people shift significant weight, explains the agency.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Despite the current most favorable scenario, the supply of these medications would only suffice for around 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The guideline calls on countries and companies to expand access, via measures like licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the primary ingredient of a leading brand – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Operate
These medications replicate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and boost feelings of fullness so individuals consume fewer calories.
People commonly see weight reduction in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Evidence suggests people may see weight return within a year of halting the treatment, as their normal food cravings resume.
Being above a healthy weight elevates your chance for contracting diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight concerns people in countries worldwide and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
