WHO Sounds Concern Over Critical Shortage of Obesity Injections
Fewer than a tenth of individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy have access to them, warns the global health agency as it issues its initial recommendations on the drugs.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidance recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with comprehensive and continuous treatment," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are key hurdles to broad availability to the jabs that can help people shift significant body mass, notes the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even under the present most favorable case, the production of these medications could only cover around 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to expand availability, by strategies such as voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Operate
These medications imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and boost satiety so people eat less.
People typically see weight reduction within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research suggests patients may regain a significant portion a year later of discontinuing the drug, as their typical appetite resume.
To be above a healthy weight elevates your risk for contracting health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight impacts individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
