The Global Health Body Sounds Warning Over Acute Shortage of Weight-Loss Jabs
Fewer than a tenth of individuals who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy have access to them, caution the World Health Organization as it publishes its initial recommendations on the drugs.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on projections, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and lifelong support," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key obstacles to widespread access to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, notes the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the current best projected case, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the health organization.
The advice encourages governments and firms to widen access, through strategies including licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in several countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Work
These medications mimick a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and increase the sense of being full so users consume fewer calories.
Patients usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Studies points to patients may see weight return a year later of discontinuing the treatment, as their usual appetite resume.
To be overweight or obese elevates your likelihood for developing medical conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Obesity concerns people in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
