World Health Organization Raises Warning Over Critical Scarcity of Obesity Injections

Fewer than a tenth of patients who could benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the global health agency as it publishes its initial recommendations on the drugs.

Considering over a billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.

Per estimates, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 without intervention.

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

Substantial prices, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are key hurdles to widespread availability to the injections that can help people shift considerable body mass, notes the organization.

Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis

Even under the present most favorable scenario, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, per the health organization.

The advice encourages nations and manufacturers to expand access, via measures including licensing agreements.

A patent on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.

How Weight-Loss Jabs Operate

GLP-1 drugs mimick a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and boost feelings of fullness so users reduce food intake.

Patients usually start to lose weight after several weeks of beginning the weekly injections.

Evidence indicates patients may see weight return after a year of halting the drug, as their normal appetite return.

Being above a healthy weight elevates your risk for contracting health problems, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some cancers.

Obesity affects people in countries worldwide and was linked to millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.