WHO Issues Concern Over Critical Lack of Weight-Loss Medications

Fewer than 10% of people that would benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy have access to them, caution the World Health Organization as it issues its inaugural advice on the drugs.

Given more than one billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is advocating for increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.

Based on estimates, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.

"The new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with holistic and ongoing care," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key obstacles to universal availability to the jabs that can help people shift significant weight, notes the organization.

GLP-1 Therapy Shortage

Even in the current best projected scenario, the production of such drugs would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.

The advice calls on countries and companies to widen access, by strategies such as voluntary licensing.

A patent on a key compound – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.

How Weight-Loss Injections Operate

GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and boost feelings of fullness so users reduce food intake.

People commonly start to lose weight within a few weeks of commencing the regular doses.

Research points to people may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the drug, when their normal hunger resume.

To be carrying excess weight raises your likelihood for experiencing diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.

Excess weight affects individuals in all nations and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.