World Health Organization Raises Alert Over Severe Shortage of Weight-Loss Medications
Less than 10% of patients who could benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy have access to them, warns the WHO as it publishes its inaugural advice on the drugs.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
Per projections, over two billion will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with comprehensive and ongoing support," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant obstacles to widespread access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, explains the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Despite the current best projected scenario, the supply of GLP-1 therapies might only reach about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, as stated by the health organization.
The advice encourages nations and manufacturers to expand access, through strategies including licensing agreements.
A patent on semaglutide – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Operate
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and boost satiety so individuals reduce food intake.
Individuals typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Research points to people may regain a significant portion a year later of halting the treatment, because their usual food cravings resume.
Being above a healthy weight raises your risk for contracting health problems, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Obesity impacts people in all nations and was associated with over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
