World Health Organization Raises Alert Over Critical Scarcity of Obesity Jabs
Under one in 10 patients eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy can access them, caution the global health agency as it issues its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to projections, more than two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be managed with thorough and lifelong treatment," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are major obstacles to widespread availability to the injections that can help people shift significant body mass, notes the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even in the current best projected outlook, the production of these medications could only cover about 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The recommendation encourages nations and manufacturers to widen availability, via measures such as patent sharing.
A patent on semaglutide – the core component of a leading brand – is due to expire in multiple countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Operate
GLP-1 drugs replicate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and boost satiety so people reduce food intake.
Patients usually start to lose weight in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence points to users may regain a significant portion within a year of halting the treatment, because their usual food cravings resume.
To be above a healthy weight elevates your likelihood for contracting diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in every country and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.