WHO Raises Warning Over Acute Scarcity of Obesity Jabs
Less than one in 10 patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy can access them, caution the World Health Organization as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to this class of drugs.
According to estimates, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidance recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with thorough and ongoing treatment," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are major hurdles to widespread availability to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, says the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the current most optimistic outlook, the supply of such drugs might only reach around 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, as stated by the health organization.
The guideline urges nations and manufacturers to widen access, via strategies like patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Operate
The injections replicate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and enhance satiety so people eat less.
Individuals usually see weight reduction after several weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Studies suggests people may see weight return within a year of stopping the treatment, because their usual food cravings resume.
Being overweight or obese raises your risk for experiencing medical conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Obesity concerns individuals in every country and was associated with 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
