WHO Sounds Concern Over Acute Lack of Weight-Loss Injections

Fewer than 10% of patients that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy can access them, warns the World Health Organization as it issues its initial recommendations on the medications.

Given more than one billion people worldwide now obese, it is urging increased and just availability to GLP-1 medication.

Per forecasts, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.

"The latest guidance affirms that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with holistic and lifelong support," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

High costs, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are key hurdles to universal availability to the treatments that can help people shift considerable weight, says the organization.

GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity

Even in the current most optimistic outlook, the manufacturing of these medications could only cover approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.

The advice urges countries and companies to expand availability, via approaches such as voluntary licensing.

A patent on semaglutide – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in several nations in 2026.

How Obesity Drugs Work

GLP-1 drugs imitate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and enhance feelings of fullness so users reduce food intake.

Patients commonly see weight reduction in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.

Evidence suggests patients may regain a significant portion within a year of stopping the medication, as their normal hunger return.

To be overweight or obese increases your likelihood for developing health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.

Excess weight impacts individuals in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.