WHO Issues Alert Over Acute Lack of Obesity Injections

Fewer than 10% of individuals who could benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy can access them, caution the global health agency as it publishes its first guidance on the medications.

With more than one billion people worldwide currently obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.

Per projections, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.

"Our new guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be addressed with thorough and ongoing care," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are significant barriers to universal availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, says the body.

GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity

Despite the present best projected case, the manufacturing of these medications could only cover around 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.

The guideline urges countries and companies to widen access, through approaches including patent sharing.

A patent on the active ingredient – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.

The Way Obesity Injections Function

GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and enhance satiety so people eat less.

Patients commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the weekly injections.

Evidence points to users may regain a significant portion within a year of discontinuing the treatment, because their normal appetite return.

To be overweight or obese elevates your chance for contracting medical conditions, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies.

Excess weight concerns people in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.