The Global Health Body Raises Concern Over Critical Lack of Weight-Loss Injections

Under one in 10 individuals that would benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, caution the WHO as it issues its first guidance on the medications.

Given over a billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.

According to estimates, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.

"Our latest guidance recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with thorough and ongoing care," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Substantial prices, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are major hurdles to widespread availability to the jabs that can help people shift significant body mass, explains the agency.

Skinny Jab Scarcity

Even in the current most optimistic scenario, the production of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, according to the health organization.

The recommendation urges governments and firms to widen access, via measures including patent sharing.

A patent on a key compound – the main component of a leading brand – is due to expire in multiple nations in 2026.

How Weight-Loss Drugs Operate

GLP-1 drugs mimick a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so users consume fewer calories.

Individuals typically see weight reduction in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.

Studies indicates patients may see weight return within a year of stopping the drug, as their normal hunger come back.

Being overweight or obese raises your likelihood for contracting health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific cancers.

Obesity impacts people in every country and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.