WHO Issues Alert Over Severe Scarcity of Weight-Loss Injections

Less than one in 10 patients that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are able to get them, caution the global health agency as it publishes its initial guidance on the therapies.

Given over a billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is advocating for increased and just access to this class of drugs.

According to estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.

"The new guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with comprehensive and lifelong support," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are key obstacles to universal access to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, explains the body.

Skinny Jab Shortage

Even in the current most optimistic case, the supply of GLP-1 therapies could only cover around 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.

The guideline urges governments and firms to widen availability, via approaches like voluntary licensing.

Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.

The Way Obesity Jabs Work

These medications imitate a biological compound to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and increase the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.

Patients typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the regular doses.

Evidence suggests users may see weight return within a year of halting the medication, when their typical food cravings return.

Being carrying excess weight raises your likelihood for contracting health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.

Obesity concerns individuals in all nations and was responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.