WHO Raises Warning Over Critical Lack of Obesity Medications
Fewer than one in 10 patients that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy can access them, warns the WHO as it publishes its first advice on the drugs.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
Per forecasts, more than two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our new guidance recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be addressed with thorough and ongoing care," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant barriers to universal access to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, notes the organization.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Despite the present best projected scenario, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.
The guideline calls on nations and manufacturers to expand availability, via measures like patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Function
The injections replicate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and enhance satiety so individuals consume fewer calories.
People typically see weight reduction in the initial weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Evidence points to people may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the treatment, when their typical food cravings come back.
Being carrying excess weight increases your likelihood for experiencing health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight concerns people in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
