The Global Health Body Issues Concern Over Severe Scarcity of Weight-Loss Injections

Fewer than one in 10 patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it releases its first guidance on the drugs.

Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging broader and more equitable access to this class of drugs.

Per forecasts, over two billion could be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.

"The latest guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with holistic and continuous treatment," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are significant hurdles to universal access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, explains the body.

Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity

Even under the current most favorable scenario, the production of GLP-1 therapies might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.

The guideline encourages nations and manufacturers to increase access, through strategies like licensing agreements.

A patent on a key compound – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.

How Obesity Jabs Work

The injections replicate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and boost satiety so users eat less.

People typically start to lose weight after several weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.

Research indicates patients may see weight return a year later of stopping the drug, when their usual appetite resume.

To be above a healthy weight increases your chance for developing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific cancers.

Obesity impacts individuals in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.