WHO Sounds Alert Over Acute Lack of Weight-Loss Medications

Less than a tenth of individuals who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy can access them, caution the WHO as it publishes its inaugural guidance on the medications.

Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.

Based on projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.

"Our new guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with comprehensive and ongoing treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

High costs, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are major hurdles to widespread access to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, notes the agency.

Weight-Loss Drug Shortage

Even under the present most optimistic case, the manufacturing of such drugs might only reach around 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, according to the health organization.

The recommendation calls on governments and firms to expand access, by approaches like licensing agreements.

The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.

The Way Obesity Injections Function

GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so users eat less.

Patients usually begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.

Research suggests users may see weight return within a year of stopping the medication, as their normal appetite return.

Being above a healthy weight raises your likelihood for developing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers.

Excess weight concerns people in all nations and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.