WHO Raises Concern Over Severe Lack of Weight-Loss Injections
Fewer than a tenth of patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, states the World Health Organization as it releases its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
Given over a billion people worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
According to estimates, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidance acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with thorough and ongoing treatment," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are major barriers to widespread access to the injections that can assist patients in reducing substantial body mass, says the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even in the current best projected outlook, the production of such drugs would only suffice for around 100 million people ā less than 10% of eligible patients, according to the health organization.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to increase access, via strategies such as patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound ā the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy ā is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Function
These medications mimick a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and boost feelings of fullness so people reduce food intake.
People usually see weight reduction within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Evidence points to people may see weight return a year later of stopping the treatment, when their normal hunger return.
To be carrying excess weight elevates your chance for experiencing health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in all nations and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.