World Health Organization Sounds Alert Over Severe Shortage of Weight-Loss Jabs
Less than 10% of patients eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, caution the global health agency as it issues its first recommendations on the medications.
With more than one billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.
Based on projections, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and continuous support," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are key barriers to broad access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, notes the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even in the present most favorable outlook, the supply of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, as stated by the WHO.
The advice calls on governments and firms to expand availability, via measures including patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Work
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and enhance the sense of being full so people reduce food intake.
Individuals typically start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Studies suggests people may see weight return after a year of discontinuing the drug, as their usual hunger come back.
Being carrying excess weight elevates your likelihood for experiencing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Obesity concerns people in countries worldwide and was associated with over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
