WHO Sounds Warning Over Acute Scarcity of Obesity Injections

Less than a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy have access to them, warns the global health agency as it releases its first recommendations on the drugs.

With over a billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.

Per forecasts, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.

"Our new guidance recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with holistic and continuous support," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are significant barriers to broad availability to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing significant weight, notes the organization.

Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis

Despite the present best projected case, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.

The guideline encourages countries and companies to widen access, via measures including patent sharing.

The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the main ingredient of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.

How Weight-Loss Drugs Operate

The injections imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and increase satiety so users consume fewer calories.

People typically start to lose weight within a few weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.

Research points to people may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the medication, because their typical hunger come back.

Being overweight or obese increases your risk for developing health problems, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some cancers.

Excess weight concerns people in every country and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.