WHO Issues Concern Over Critical Scarcity of Obesity Injections
Less than a tenth of individuals who could benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.
Considering more than one billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
Based on forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our latest guidelines recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with holistic and ongoing support," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are key hurdles to universal availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, notes the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even in the present most favorable case, the supply of GLP-1 therapies could only cover approximately 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.
The recommendation calls on countries and companies to widen access, by approaches including voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs imitate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so users reduce food intake.
People typically begin shedding pounds after several weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Research suggests patients may regain a significant portion after a year of halting the drug, because their normal appetite return.
To be above a healthy weight elevates your chance for developing health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some cancers.
Excess weight concerns people in countries worldwide and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
