WHO Issues Concern Over Acute Shortage of Weight-Loss Jabs
Fewer than 10% of people who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the global health agency as it issues its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Per projections, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines recognises that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with thorough and continuous care," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are significant obstacles to universal availability to the treatments that can help people shift significant weight, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the present best projected outlook, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO.
The recommendation calls on nations and manufacturers to increase access, by strategies such as voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Operate
These medications imitate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so users eat less.
People typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Evidence indicates people may see weight return a year later of stopping the medication, when their typical appetite resume.
Being overweight or obese increases your risk for contracting medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Obesity impacts people in all nations and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
