WHO Sounds Concern Over Acute Scarcity of Weight-Loss Medications
Fewer than one in 10 patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it releases its inaugural guidance on the medications.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to this class of drugs.
According to projections, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with holistic and ongoing care," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are key obstacles to widespread availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, notes the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the present most optimistic scenario, the supply of these medications could only cover approximately 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The recommendation calls on nations and manufacturers to expand access, via strategies such as patent sharing.
A patent on a key compound – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and increase the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.
Individuals usually see weight reduction after several weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Evidence suggests patients may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the medication, because their normal appetite come back.
Being above a healthy weight raises your likelihood for experiencing diseases, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain cancers.
Obesity affects people in all nations and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
