The Global Health Body Sounds Warning Over Severe Scarcity of Weight-Loss Injections
Less than 10% of patients eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy can access them, warns the World Health Organization as it releases its first recommendations on the therapies.
Considering more than one billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging increased and just availability to this class of drugs.
Based on estimates, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our latest guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with holistic and ongoing support," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant barriers to broad availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing significant weight, notes the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even in the present most favorable scenario, the supply of GLP-1 therapies could only cover about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The recommendation urges countries and companies to widen access, through measures like patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Drugs Function
These medications imitate a biological compound to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and increase the sense of being full so individuals eat less.
Patients usually see weight reduction within a few weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence indicates users may see weight return within a year of stopping the drug, as their normal food cravings resume.
Being overweight or obese increases your risk for developing diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in every country and was responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
