🔗 Share this article The Global Health Body Sounds Warning Over Severe Shortage of Weight-Loss Jabs Under one in 10 individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy have access to them, caution the WHO as it publishes its first guidance on the therapies. Given over a billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments. Based on estimates, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken. "Our new guidance recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and ongoing care," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are key barriers to broad availability to the injections that can help people shift substantial body mass, explains the body. GLP-1 Therapy Shortage Even in the current most favorable case, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO. The advice urges countries and companies to expand access, via measures like voluntary licensing. A patent on semaglutide – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026. The Way Obesity Drugs Operate The injections mimick a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and boost feelings of fullness so users reduce food intake. People commonly begin shedding pounds after several weeks of starting on the weekly injections. Research indicates users may put most of the weight back on a year later of halting the medication, because their normal hunger resume. To be carrying excess weight increases your risk for developing diseases, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies. Obesity concerns people in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
Under one in 10 individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy have access to them, caution the WHO as it publishes its first guidance on the therapies. Given over a billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments. Based on estimates, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken. "Our new guidance recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and ongoing care," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are key barriers to broad availability to the injections that can help people shift substantial body mass, explains the body. GLP-1 Therapy Shortage Even in the current most favorable case, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO. The advice urges countries and companies to expand access, via measures like voluntary licensing. A patent on semaglutide – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026. The Way Obesity Drugs Operate The injections mimick a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and boost feelings of fullness so users reduce food intake. People commonly begin shedding pounds after several weeks of starting on the weekly injections. Research indicates users may put most of the weight back on a year later of halting the medication, because their normal hunger resume. To be carrying excess weight increases your risk for developing diseases, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies. Obesity concerns people in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.