The Global Health Body Raises Concern Over Critical Shortage of Weight-Loss Medications
Under 10% of patients that would benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the global health agency as it releases its inaugural advice on the medications.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments.
Per projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with holistic and ongoing support," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are significant barriers to widespread availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant weight, says the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Despite the current best projected case, the manufacturing of such drugs would only suffice for around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO.
The advice encourages governments and firms to increase availability, by approaches including licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the main ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Operate
GLP-1 drugs replicate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and increase the sense of being full so users consume fewer calories.
Individuals usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Studies points to people may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the treatment, as their typical food cravings resume.
Being carrying excess weight elevates your risk for contracting health problems, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some cancers.
Excess weight concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was linked to millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
