World Health Organization Sounds Alert Over Acute Shortage of Obesity Medications
Fewer than 10% of individuals that would benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy are able to get them, caution the WHO as it issues its first guidance on the drugs.
Given more than one billion people worldwide currently obese, it is urging increased and just access to these injectable treatments.
Based on forecasts, over two billion could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidelines affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with thorough and continuous treatment," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are significant barriers to widespread availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing substantial weight, says the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Despite the current most favorable outlook, the production of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, according to the health organization.
The guideline calls on governments and firms to expand access, by strategies like licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Work
The injections mimick a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories.
People typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence points to patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the drug, when their usual food cravings return.
Being above a healthy weight increases your likelihood for developing health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Obesity affects people in countries worldwide and was linked to millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
