WHO Raises Concern Over Critical Lack of Weight-Loss Jabs
Under a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it issues its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on forecasts, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidance recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with holistic and lifelong care," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are key barriers to broad access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, says the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Despite the current most optimistic outlook, the manufacturing of these medications would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The guideline encourages nations and manufacturers to increase access, through strategies such as licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the core component of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Operate
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and boost satiety so users eat less.
Individuals usually start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Studies suggests people may put most of the weight back on after a year of discontinuing the treatment, as their normal food cravings come back.
Being above a healthy weight raises your risk for developing diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in every country and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
