World Health Organization Raises Warning Over Severe Scarcity of Weight-Loss Injections
Less than a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, states the global health agency as it releases its first advice on the therapies.
Given more than one billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
According to estimates, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidance recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with holistic and ongoing treatment," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are significant obstacles to universal access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the present best projected case, the supply of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.
The advice encourages countries and companies to increase access, via approaches like patent sharing.
A patent on semaglutide – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in several countries in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Function
These medications mimick a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and increase the sense of being full so users eat less.
Patients commonly begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Studies suggests patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the drug, because their normal hunger return.
To be carrying excess weight elevates your chance for developing health problems, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Obesity impacts people in every country and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
