The Global Health Body Sounds Warning Over Critical Scarcity of Weight-Loss Medications
Under one in 10 people eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy can access them, caution the WHO as it releases its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
Based on forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidance affirms that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with comprehensive and lifelong care," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are key hurdles to broad access to the injections that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, explains the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even in the current best projected scenario, the supply of these medications might only reach about 100 million people β under 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.
The advice encourages nations and manufacturers to increase access, through measures such as licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide β the main ingredient of the drug Wegovy β is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Injections Work
The injections mimick a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and boost the sense of being full so users eat less.
People usually start to lose weight in the initial weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Studies points to users may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the drug, when their usual hunger come back.
Being carrying excess weight raises your chance for experiencing health problems, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight affects people in countries worldwide and was linked to 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
