The Global Health Body Raises Warning Over Acute Shortage of Obesity Injections

Under one in 10 patients who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy can access them, states the World Health Organization as it releases its first recommendations on the drugs.

Given more than one billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.

According to estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.

"The latest guidance acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be managed with holistic and ongoing treatment," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are major obstacles to broad access to the treatments that can help people shift significant body mass, explains the organization.

GLP-1 Therapy Shortage

Even in the present most favorable scenario, the supply of these medications could only cover approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.

The recommendation encourages nations and manufacturers to widen access, via approaches like licensing agreements.

A patent on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple nations in 2026.

How Weight-Loss Injections Work

The injections imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and enhance satiety so individuals eat less.

People commonly begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.

Research points to patients may regain a significant portion after a year of halting the medication, as their usual food cravings resume.

To be above a healthy weight elevates your chance for contracting medical conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.

Excess weight affects people in all nations and was linked to over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.