World Health Organization Raises Alert Over Severe Shortage of Obesity Injections
Fewer than 10% of individuals who could benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it issues its first recommendations on the therapies.
With over a billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on projections, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and continuous care," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are key barriers to broad access to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even under the current most favorable case, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The guideline urges countries and companies to expand access, by approaches like patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Function
These medications replicate a natural hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and boost feelings of fullness so users reduce food intake.
People commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Research suggests patients may put most of the weight back on a year later of halting the drug, as their usual appetite return.
To be carrying excess weight elevates your chance for developing diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight affects individuals in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
