The Global Health Body Issues Concern Over Critical Scarcity of Weight-Loss Medications
Less than a tenth of individuals that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy can access them, states the WHO as it publishes its inaugural advice on the medications.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
Per estimates, over two billion will be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with comprehensive and lifelong treatment," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are significant hurdles to widespread access to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, notes the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even in the present most optimistic outlook, the production of GLP-1 therapies might only reach about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The advice calls on countries and companies to expand availability, via approaches including licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Work
The injections imitate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so people reduce food intake.
Individuals commonly begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Studies points to users may regain a significant portion a year later of stopping the drug, when their usual appetite come back.
To be above a healthy weight increases your chance for experiencing medical conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Obesity affects people in all nations and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
