WHO Sounds Concern Over Severe Shortage of Weight-Loss Medications
Fewer than one in 10 individuals that would benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy are able to get them, states the global health agency as it publishes its initial recommendations on the therapies.
Considering over a billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
Per projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with comprehensive and ongoing treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are significant hurdles to widespread availability to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, says the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even in the present most favorable scenario, the supply of such drugs could only cover approximately 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, as stated by the health organization.
The advice encourages countries and companies to widen access, via strategies including licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Function
These medications imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and increase satiety so users eat less.
Patients typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Research suggests people may put most of the weight back on a year later of stopping the drug, as their typical appetite return.
Being overweight or obese elevates your chance for contracting diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Obesity affects individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
