The Global Health Body Raises Alert Over Critical Shortage of Weight-Loss Jabs

Fewer than a tenth of people eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, warns the WHO as it issues its initial recommendations on the medications.

Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently obese, it is urging increased and just access to these injectable treatments.

According to projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.

"The latest guidelines affirms that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with thorough and ongoing support," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

High costs, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are significant obstacles to broad availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, notes the agency.

GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity

Even in the present most optimistic case, the production of such drugs might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.

The guideline calls on countries and companies to expand access, through measures including patent sharing.

The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main ingredient of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.

The Way Obesity Jabs Operate

The injections replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so individuals eat less.

Individuals commonly start to lose weight after several weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.

Research points to people may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the medication, because their normal hunger come back.

To be carrying excess weight increases your risk for experiencing diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific cancers.

Excess weight affects individuals in every country and was responsible for 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.