Less than 10% of people eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, caution the World Health Organization as it releases its initial guidance on the medications.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments.
Per projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our new guidance affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with thorough and continuous care," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are major hurdles to widespread access to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, explains the body.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even under the current most favorable scenario, the production of these medications would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline urges governments and firms to increase availability, via measures including voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Operate
These medications replicate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so people eat less.
Patients usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Research indicates patients may see weight return after a year of stopping the medication, as their usual hunger resume.
Being carrying excess weight elevates your risk for contracting diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in all nations and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
