The Global Health Body Sounds Warning Over Severe Lack of Obesity Injections
Less than 10% of patients that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it issues its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.
With over a billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for increased and just access to this class of drugs.
Per estimates, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidance affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with thorough and lifelong support," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are major obstacles to broad access to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even in the present most optimistic scenario, the manufacturing of these medications might only reach about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, per the health organization.
The guideline urges nations and manufacturers to expand availability, through measures like licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Operate
These medications replicate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so people eat less.
Individuals typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Evidence suggests users may regain a significant portion within a year of stopping the drug, as their normal hunger return.
To be carrying excess weight raises your risk for contracting health problems, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Excess weight affects individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
