The Global Health Body Sounds Concern Over Severe Shortage of Obesity Medications
Under a tenth of patients who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it publishes its initial recommendations on the therapies.
With more than one billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
Per projections, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidance affirms that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with holistic and continuous support," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are significant obstacles to universal access to the injections that can help people shift substantial weight, notes the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Despite the present most favorable case, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, according to the health organization.
The guideline urges governments and firms to expand availability, by approaches such as voluntary licensing.
A patent on semaglutide – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Work
GLP-1 drugs replicate a natural hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and boost feelings of fullness so users reduce food intake.
Individuals typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Studies points to people may see weight return a year later of halting the treatment, because their usual hunger resume.
Being overweight or obese elevates your risk for contracting medical conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Obesity impacts individuals in all nations and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
