The Global Health Body Sounds Concern Over Critical Scarcity of Weight-Loss Medications

Fewer than 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, caution the global health agency as it issues its first recommendations on the drugs.

With over a billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.

Based on forecasts, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.

"The new guidance affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with comprehensive and lifelong support," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are major hurdles to widespread availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, says the organization.

Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity

Even under the current most optimistic case, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.

The recommendation calls on countries and companies to increase availability, by measures like voluntary licensing.

The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.

How Weight-Loss Injections Work

GLP-1 drugs imitate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and increase the sense of being full so people reduce food intake.

People commonly begin shedding pounds after several weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.

Research indicates people may put most of the weight back on a year later of halting the drug, as their usual food cravings resume.

Being above a healthy weight elevates your likelihood for developing medical conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.

Excess weight affects people in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.