WHO Sounds Concern Over Severe Shortage of Weight-Loss Injections

Fewer than one in 10 individuals who could benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy have access to them, states the World Health Organization as it publishes its initial advice on the therapies.

Given over a billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.

According to projections, over two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.

"Our new guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be managed with thorough and lifelong care," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Substantial prices, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are significant obstacles to widespread access to the injections that can help people shift significant body mass, notes the agency.

GLP-1 Therapy Shortage

Despite the present most favorable scenario, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for about 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.

The advice encourages governments and firms to widen access, through strategies like patent sharing.

A patent on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.

How Weight-Loss Jabs Work

These medications mimick a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and boost the sense of being full so individuals eat less.

Patients usually see weight reduction in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.

Research indicates patients may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the treatment, because their normal hunger resume.

Being carrying excess weight elevates your risk for developing health problems, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific cancers.

Excess weight impacts people in all nations and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.