WHO Raises Concern Over Severe Scarcity of Weight-Loss Medications

Under a tenth of individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it issues its initial guidance on the drugs.

With more than one billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.

Based on forecasts, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.

"Our new guidance affirms that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with comprehensive and ongoing treatment," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are significant obstacles to universal access to the injections that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, says the organization.

Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity

Even under the current most optimistic case, the manufacturing of such drugs could only cover approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.

The advice urges countries and companies to widen availability, via measures like licensing agreements.

A patent on a key compound – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.

How Weight-Loss Drugs Operate

The injections replicate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and increase satiety so people consume fewer calories.

People usually begin shedding pounds after several weeks of beginning the regular doses.

Studies points to users may put most of the weight back on a year later of halting the medication, because their normal food cravings come back.

Being overweight or obese elevates your chance for experiencing health problems, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers.

Obesity impacts people in countries worldwide and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.