WHO Sounds Alert Over Acute Shortage of Weight-Loss Injections
Less than 10% of people who could benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy can access them, states the World Health Organization as it issues its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
With more than one billion people worldwide currently obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments.
According to projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with thorough and lifelong care," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are key hurdles to broad availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing substantial body mass, notes the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Even under the current most optimistic scenario, the manufacturing of these medications might only reach around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.
The guideline urges countries and companies to increase availability, through approaches including licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the primary component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Operate
GLP-1 drugs mimick a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and enhance the sense of being full so individuals reduce food intake.
Patients usually see weight reduction within a few weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Evidence points to people may see weight return within a year of stopping the treatment, as their usual hunger return.
To be overweight or obese raises your risk for experiencing medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in all nations and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
