🔗 Share this article WHO Sounds Alert Over Acute Scarcity of Weight-Loss Medications Fewer than a tenth of patients who could benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy have access to them, states the global health agency as it releases its inaugural guidance on the drugs. Considering more than one billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments. Per projections, over two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention. "Our latest guidance affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with holistic and lifelong treatment," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are major obstacles to broad availability to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing substantial weight, notes the agency. GLP-1 Therapy Shortage Even under the present most favorable case, the supply of such drugs would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, according to the WHO. The recommendation encourages nations and manufacturers to increase availability, through measures including licensing agreements. A patent on the active ingredient – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026. The Way Obesity Drugs Function GLP-1 drugs mimick a natural hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and increase satiety so users reduce food intake. Patients commonly begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs. Studies suggests users may put most of the weight back on after a year of discontinuing the treatment, when their usual hunger come back. Being above a healthy weight elevates your likelihood for contracting health problems, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some malignancies. Excess weight impacts people in all nations and was associated with over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
Fewer than a tenth of patients who could benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy have access to them, states the global health agency as it releases its inaugural guidance on the drugs. Considering more than one billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments. Per projections, over two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention. "Our latest guidance affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with holistic and lifelong treatment," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are major obstacles to broad availability to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing substantial weight, notes the agency. GLP-1 Therapy Shortage Even under the present most favorable case, the supply of such drugs would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, according to the WHO. The recommendation encourages nations and manufacturers to increase availability, through measures including licensing agreements. A patent on the active ingredient – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026. The Way Obesity Drugs Function GLP-1 drugs mimick a natural hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and increase satiety so users reduce food intake. Patients commonly begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs. Studies suggests users may put most of the weight back on after a year of discontinuing the treatment, when their usual hunger come back. Being above a healthy weight elevates your likelihood for contracting health problems, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some malignancies. Excess weight impacts people in all nations and was associated with over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.