The Global Health Body Raises Alert Over Acute Lack of Obesity Injections
Less than a tenth of patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it releases its first recommendations on the medications.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
Based on forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidance affirms that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with thorough and continuous treatment," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are major hurdles to universal availability to the treatments that can help people shift significant body mass, explains the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even under the current best projected case, the manufacturing of such drugs might only reach around 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO.
The advice urges countries and companies to widen access, through strategies like patent sharing.
A patent on a key compound – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Function
GLP-1 drugs imitate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and boost the sense of being full so individuals reduce food intake.
People usually begin shedding pounds after several weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Studies suggests patients may regain a significant portion after a year of stopping the treatment, because their typical appetite return.
To be overweight or obese elevates your chance for developing medical conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some cancers.
Obesity concerns individuals in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.