World Health Organization Sounds Warning Over Severe Lack of Weight-Loss Medications
Under one in 10 individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, warns the WHO as it issues its initial recommendations on the therapies.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
Per projections, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines affirms that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and continuous treatment," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are major barriers to broad access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, says the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even under the current most favorable outlook, the supply of these medications could only cover about 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The recommendation urges nations and manufacturers to expand access, through approaches like licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and increase feelings of fullness so people consume fewer calories.
Individuals typically begin shedding pounds after several weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Studies indicates people may regain a significant portion a year later of halting the treatment, because their usual food cravings resume.
Being carrying excess weight increases your chance for experiencing health problems, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight affects individuals in every country and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
