World Health Organization Sounds Alert Over Severe Shortage of Weight-Loss Medications
Less than 10% of patients who could benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy can access them, states the World Health Organization as it issues its first advice on the drugs.
Considering more than one billion people worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to this class of drugs.
Based on projections, more than two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidance acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with comprehensive and lifelong care," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are significant hurdles to widespread access to the treatments that can help people shift substantial weight, says the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even in the current best projected case, the production of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for around 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.
The recommendation urges governments and firms to widen availability, via approaches including licensing agreements.
A patent on a key compound – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in several countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Operate
The injections replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and boost the sense of being full so people consume fewer calories.
People commonly begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Research indicates patients may regain a significant portion within a year of stopping the treatment, because their usual appetite resume.
Being above a healthy weight increases your likelihood for experiencing medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
