World Health Organization Sounds Alert Over Critical Lack of Obesity Injections

Under one in 10 individuals eligible to benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy are able to get them, states the global health agency as it issues its inaugural recommendations on the medications.

With more than one billion people worldwide currently obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.

Based on estimates, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.

"Our latest guidelines recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with comprehensive and lifelong treatment," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Substantial prices, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key obstacles to widespread availability to the treatments that can help people shift significant body mass, says the agency.

GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis

Despite the present best projected case, the production of these medications might only reach around 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.

The advice urges countries and companies to expand availability, by approaches like licensing agreements.

A patent on semaglutide – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.

The Way Obesity Injections Operate

The injections imitate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so users eat less.

Patients typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the regular doses.

Research indicates users may put most of the weight back on a year later of stopping the treatment, when their typical hunger resume.

Being overweight or obese increases your likelihood for developing diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific cancers.

Obesity concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.