WHO Sounds Alert Over Acute Lack of Weight-Loss Injections

Fewer than 10% of people who could benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy can access them, caution the WHO as it issues its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.

Given over a billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging increased and just access to these injectable treatments.

According to estimates, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.

"Our latest guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with holistic and continuous care," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Significant expense, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are key barriers to universal availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, says the body.

Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity

Even in the present best projected scenario, the production of these medications would only suffice for around 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.

The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to widen access, via approaches such as patent sharing.

The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the core component of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.

How Obesity Jabs Operate

These medications replicate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and boost the sense of being full so individuals eat less.

Individuals usually begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.

Studies indicates people may see weight return after a year of discontinuing the treatment, as their typical appetite resume.

To be carrying excess weight increases your risk for contracting diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some malignancies.

Excess weight impacts people in every country and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.