The Global Health Body Raises Concern Over Acute Shortage of Weight-Loss Jabs

Less than a tenth of people eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy have access to them, warns the WHO as it publishes its first recommendations on the therapies.

Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is calling for increased and just access to these injectable treatments.

According to forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.

"The new guidance recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with holistic and continuous care," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Substantial prices, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are significant barriers to universal access to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing substantial weight, says the body.

Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity

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

The recommendation encourages governments and firms to expand access, through approaches like voluntary licensing.

The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.

How Obesity Injections Operate

GLP-1 drugs mimick a natural hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and enhance the sense of being full so individuals reduce food intake.

Individuals typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.

Research indicates patients may regain a significant portion within a year of stopping the treatment, because their usual appetite resume.

Being overweight or obese raises your chance for experiencing diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.

Excess weight affects individuals in all nations and was associated with over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.