WHO Raises Alert Over Severe Lack of Weight-Loss Medications

Fewer than 10% of patients eligible to benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy have access to them, warns the global health agency as it issues its initial guidance on the drugs.

Given over a billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.

Per forecasts, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 without intervention.

"The latest guidance affirms that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with thorough and ongoing support," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Substantial prices, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are key barriers to universal availability to the jabs that can help people shift significant weight, says the agency.

Weight-Loss Drug Shortage

Even under the present best projected case, the manufacturing of such drugs would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, according to the health organization.

The recommendation encourages governments and firms to widen availability, by measures including licensing agreements.

A patent on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.

How Weight-Loss Drugs Function

GLP-1 drugs replicate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and enhance satiety so individuals consume fewer calories.

Individuals usually see weight reduction within a few weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.

Studies indicates patients may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the drug, when their typical food cravings come back.

Being carrying excess weight raises your risk for contracting medical conditions, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some malignancies.

Excess weight impacts people in all nations and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.