🔗 Share this article The Global Health Body Raises Alert Over Critical Scarcity of Weight-Loss Injections Under 10% of patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy are able to get them, caution the World Health Organization as it publishes its first advice on the drugs. With over a billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to this class of drugs. Based on estimates, over two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention. "The new guidance recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be addressed with comprehensive and ongoing care," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are key hurdles to universal access to the jabs that can help people shift substantial body mass, says the agency. GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis Even in the present most favorable case, the manufacturing of such drugs would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, per the WHO. The guideline urges governments and firms to widen access, through measures such as voluntary licensing. The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026. How Weight-Loss Drugs Function The injections replicate a biological compound to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and increase feelings of fullness so people consume fewer calories. Individuals commonly start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the weekly injections. Research suggests patients may see weight return after a year of stopping the medication, when their normal food cravings resume. Being overweight or obese elevates your likelihood for experiencing diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific malignancies. Excess weight impacts people in countries worldwide and was responsible for 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
Under 10% of patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy are able to get them, caution the World Health Organization as it publishes its first advice on the drugs. With over a billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to this class of drugs. Based on estimates, over two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention. "The new guidance recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be addressed with comprehensive and ongoing care," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are key hurdles to universal access to the jabs that can help people shift substantial body mass, says the agency. GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis Even in the present most favorable case, the manufacturing of such drugs would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, per the WHO. The guideline urges governments and firms to widen access, through measures such as voluntary licensing. The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026. How Weight-Loss Drugs Function The injections replicate a biological compound to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and increase feelings of fullness so people consume fewer calories. Individuals commonly start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the weekly injections. Research suggests patients may see weight return after a year of stopping the medication, when their normal food cravings resume. Being overweight or obese elevates your likelihood for experiencing diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific malignancies. Excess weight impacts people in countries worldwide and was responsible for 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.