WHO Sounds Warning Over Severe Shortage of Weight-Loss Medications
Fewer than 10% of individuals who could benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy can access them, states the global health agency as it releases its initial guidance 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.
Per forecasts, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidance affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with thorough and ongoing treatment," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are significant barriers to broad access to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even under the current most optimistic case, the supply of these medications would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The guideline calls on countries and companies to expand access, through approaches including licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Work
GLP-1 drugs imitate a biological compound to slow digestion, reduce hunger and increase the sense of being full so individuals eat less.
People usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Studies points to patients may see weight return after a year of halting the treatment, as their usual hunger resume.
Being carrying excess weight increases your risk for developing medical conditions, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in every country and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
