World Health Organization Raises Alert Over Critical Shortage of Weight-Loss Medications

Fewer than one in 10 patients who could benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy are able to get them, states the World Health Organization as it issues its initial guidance on the drugs.

With more than one billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging increased and just availability to GLP-1 medication.

Per projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.

"Our latest guidelines affirms that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with thorough and lifelong care," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are key obstacles to universal access to the injections that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, explains the body.

GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity

Even under the current most optimistic scenario, the supply of such drugs would only suffice for around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, per the health organization.

The advice calls on governments and firms to widen access, by measures such as voluntary licensing.

A patent on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.

How Obesity Injections Work

The injections imitate a biological compound to slow digestion, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so individuals eat less.

Patients typically see weight reduction within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.

Studies suggests people may put most of the weight back on after a year of discontinuing the treatment, as their usual food cravings come back.

Being carrying excess weight increases your risk for experiencing health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific malignancies.

Excess weight concerns people in countries worldwide and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.