🔗 Share this article The Global Health Body Raises Concern Over Acute Scarcity of Weight-Loss Injections Less than one in 10 individuals who could benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy can access them, warns the WHO as it releases its initial guidance on the drugs. With over a billion people worldwide currently obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to this class of drugs. Per forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be obese by 2030 unless action is taken. "The new guidelines affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with comprehensive and lifelong support," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are significant hurdles to broad availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing considerable weight, says the body. GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity Even under the current best projected case, the manufacturing of these medications could only cover approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the WHO. The guideline encourages governments and firms to expand availability, by measures such as voluntary licensing. The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026. How Weight-Loss Drugs Function The injections replicate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories. Individuals commonly start to lose weight after several weeks of commencing the regular doses. Research indicates people may see weight return a year later of stopping the drug, as their typical food cravings resume. Being overweight or obese increases your risk for developing diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers. Excess weight concerns individuals in every country and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
Less than one in 10 individuals who could benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy can access them, warns the WHO as it releases its initial guidance on the drugs. With over a billion people worldwide currently obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to this class of drugs. Per forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be obese by 2030 unless action is taken. "The new guidelines affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with comprehensive and lifelong support," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are significant hurdles to broad availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing considerable weight, says the body. GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity Even under the current best projected case, the manufacturing of these medications could only cover approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the WHO. The guideline encourages governments and firms to expand availability, by measures such as voluntary licensing. The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026. How Weight-Loss Drugs Function The injections replicate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories. Individuals commonly start to lose weight after several weeks of commencing the regular doses. Research indicates people may see weight return a year later of stopping the drug, as their typical food cravings resume. Being overweight or obese increases your risk for developing diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers. Excess weight concerns individuals in every country and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.