World Health Organization Sounds Concern Over Severe Lack of Obesity Jabs
Less than one in 10 patients eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy can access them, warns the WHO as it publishes its first recommendations on the medications.
With over a billion people worldwide now obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments.
Based on projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidelines affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with comprehensive and lifelong treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are key obstacles to broad access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, says the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even under the present most optimistic case, the production of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.
The advice urges countries and companies to increase access, by strategies such as patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Injections Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a biological compound to slow digestion, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.
People typically start to lose weight within a few weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Studies suggests users may regain a significant portion after a year of discontinuing the drug, because their normal food cravings resume.
To be above a healthy weight increases your likelihood for contracting diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight affects individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
