World Health Organization Sounds Concern Over Severe Lack of Weight-Loss Medications
Less than one in 10 patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy are able to get them, caution the global health agency as it publishes its inaugural advice on the therapies.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for increased and just access to these injectable treatments.
Per estimates, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidance affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with comprehensive and continuous care," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are key obstacles to widespread access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, notes the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the current best projected outlook, the production of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to widen access, through strategies like patent sharing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the main ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Operate
The injections imitate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and boost feelings of fullness so users reduce food intake.
Patients commonly begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Evidence points to patients may see weight return after a year of halting the drug, because their usual appetite come back.
To be carrying excess weight increases your risk for contracting diseases, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
