FEWER than one in ten of the world’s billion obese people can access weight-loss jabs, according to the World Health Organisation.
High costs, limited production and supply chain problems are preventing the vast majority of overweight people who would benefit from accessing what can be life-saving GLP-1 drugs.
The WHO has already classed them as “essential medicines”.
But even at top production, the drugs could only reach 100 million people — less than ten per cent of those who need them.
In its call for fairer, wider access to skinny jabs, the WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described how the organisation rebranded obesity as a treatable disease, rather than a lifestyle choice.
He added: “Our greatest concern is equitable access.
“While medication alone won’t solve this crisis, GLP-1 therapies can help millions overcome obesity and reduce its harms.”
The patent on semaglutide — the active ingredient in drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy — is due to expire in several countries including India, Canada, China and Brazil next year.
It will make it cheaper to buy with cut-price generic alternatives.
However, the patent does not expire in Britain until 2031.
Shortages also increase the lure of dangerous black market alternatives, especially as people coming off the drugs tend to regain most of the weight.
Official data from the Office for National Statistics shows obesity is a contributory factor in 30,000 UK deaths annually.
