WHO Sounds Concern Over Severe Scarcity of Obesity Medications
Fewer than one in 10 patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, states the global health agency as it releases its inaugural guidance on the therapies.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently obese, it is urging increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
Per projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidance affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and lifelong treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are major hurdles to universal access to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing substantial weight, notes the agency.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even in the present best projected case, the production of such drugs might only reach around 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The advice encourages nations and manufacturers to expand availability, by measures like licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Operate
GLP-1 drugs imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so people reduce food intake.
Individuals typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to people may see weight return within a year of stopping the medication, when their usual food cravings return.
To be overweight or obese elevates your risk for developing diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Excess weight concerns individuals in all nations and was associated with over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.