The Global Health Body Sounds Concern Over Severe Lack of Obesity Medications
Under one in 10 people who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, caution the World Health Organization as it publishes its initial recommendations on the medications.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
According to projections, over two billion could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our latest guidelines recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with comprehensive and continuous care," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are major obstacles to widespread availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, notes the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even under the current best projected case, the manufacturing of such drugs could only cover about 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The guideline urges nations and manufacturers to widen access, by strategies including licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the core ingredient of a leading brand – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Work
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and boost the sense of being full so people eat less.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Research indicates patients may see weight return after a year of stopping the medication, as their usual appetite resume.
To be overweight or obese raises your risk for developing medical conditions, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
