The Global Health Body Raises Concern Over Acute Shortage of Weight-Loss Medications
Fewer than 10% of people who could benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it releases its first advice on the drugs.
With more than one billion people worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for increased and just access to this class of drugs.
Based on forecasts, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidelines recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with holistic and continuous treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant barriers to universal availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, notes the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the current best projected case, the production of such drugs could only cover approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The advice urges countries and companies to widen availability, by strategies such as patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Operate
These medications imitate a natural hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so people eat less.
Individuals usually see weight reduction after several weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Evidence suggests users may regain a significant portion after a year of halting the drug, when their typical appetite resume.
To be above a healthy weight elevates your likelihood for developing medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in all nations and was linked to millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
