WHO Sounds Warning Over Severe Scarcity of Weight-Loss Medications

Fewer than a tenth of patients who could benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy have access to them, warns the WHO as it publishes its initial recommendations on the medications.

Considering over a billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.

According to projections, over two billion will be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.

"Our new guidance recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and continuous support," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are major obstacles to universal access to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, says the agency.

GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis

Even in the current most favorable case, the manufacturing of such drugs could only cover around 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the health organization.

The advice calls on governments and firms to widen availability, via measures such as patent sharing.

A patent on semaglutide – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.

How Obesity Jabs Work

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

Individuals typically see weight reduction in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.

Evidence points to users may regain a significant portion a year later of stopping the drug, because their typical food cravings resume.

To be carrying excess weight raises your chance for contracting medical conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies.

Obesity impacts people in all nations and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.