World Health Organization Raises Alert Over Severe Shortage of Weight-Loss Jabs

Fewer than 10% of individuals who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy can access them, warns the World Health Organization as it releases its inaugural guidance on the therapies.

Considering over a billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.

According to forecasts, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.

"The new guidance recognises that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with holistic and continuous care," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are key barriers to universal access to the injections that can assist patients in reducing substantial body mass, explains the organization.

GLP-1 Therapy Shortage

Even in the present most optimistic outlook, the production of such drugs could only cover around 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.

The recommendation encourages governments and firms to widen access, by measures like voluntary licensing.

The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.

How Weight-Loss Injections Function

The injections mimick a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and boost feelings of fullness so people reduce food intake.

People typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.

Evidence suggests patients may see weight return a year later of halting the treatment, as their usual food cravings resume.

To be carrying excess weight increases your likelihood for developing medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific malignancies.

Obesity concerns people in countries worldwide and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.