World Health Organization Issues Alert Over Acute Lack of Weight-Loss Jabs
Fewer than 10% of people eligible to benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its first advice on the drugs.
Given more than one billion people worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
Based on estimates, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with comprehensive and ongoing treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are major barriers to widespread availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, notes the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even in the present most favorable outlook, the production of such drugs would only suffice for around 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO.
The recommendation calls on nations and manufacturers to expand access, through strategies including patent sharing.
A patent on a key compound – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs imitate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and boost the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.
People commonly see weight reduction in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Evidence points to users may regain a significant portion after a year of halting the drug, when their normal hunger resume.
To be overweight or obese increases your likelihood for developing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Excess weight affects individuals in every country and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
