WHO Raises Warning Over Severe Scarcity of Weight-Loss Injections

Less than a tenth of individuals who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy are able to get them, caution the WHO as it releases its inaugural advice on the drugs.

With more than one billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging increased and just access to these injectable treatments.

According to projections, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.

"The new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with holistic and ongoing treatment," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are significant obstacles to widespread availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, explains the agency.

Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis

Even under the present most optimistic scenario, the supply of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for about 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, per the WHO.

The advice encourages governments and firms to expand availability, by measures including voluntary licensing.

A patent on semaglutide – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.

The Way Weight-Loss Injections Operate

These medications imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so people consume fewer calories.

People commonly begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of beginning the regular doses.

Evidence suggests people may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the treatment, when their normal food cravings return.

To be carrying excess weight elevates your chance for developing diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain malignancies.

Obesity impacts people in countries worldwide and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.