WHO Sounds Alert Over Severe Lack of Weight-Loss Injections
Fewer than one in 10 people eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it issues its initial recommendations on the medications.
With over a billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidance acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with comprehensive and continuous care," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are significant hurdles to broad access to the injections that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, says the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even under the current most optimistic scenario, the manufacturing of these medications might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.
The recommendation encourages countries and companies to widen access, by approaches including voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Operate
The injections mimick a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and increase feelings of fullness so users consume fewer calories.
Patients usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Studies indicates patients may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the treatment, when their usual food cravings come back.
Being carrying excess weight increases your risk for developing diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Obesity impacts individuals in countries worldwide and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
