The Global Health Body Sounds Warning Over Critical Shortage of Weight-Loss Medications
Fewer than one in 10 patients eligible to benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy are able to get them, states the WHO as it issues its first guidance on the drugs.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments.
Per forecasts, over two billion will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidance acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be managed with holistic and continuous support," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are significant hurdles to widespread access to the jabs that can help people shift substantial weight, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the current best projected scenario, the supply of such drugs might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the health organization.
The recommendation calls on nations and manufacturers to expand access, via approaches including patent sharing.
A patent on a key compound – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Function
The injections replicate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and boost feelings of fullness so users consume fewer calories.
Patients usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence indicates patients may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the medication, as their usual hunger return.
To be carrying excess weight elevates your chance for experiencing diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in all nations and was linked to over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
