The Global Health Body Issues Concern Over Severe Lack of Obesity Injections
Under a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy have access to them, caution the WHO as it releases its initial guidance on the drugs.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments.
According to estimates, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and continuous care," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are major hurdles to broad availability to the treatments that can help people shift considerable weight, says the body.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even under the current most optimistic scenario, the production of GLP-1 therapies might only reach approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The advice calls on governments and firms to increase availability, through approaches like patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Operate
The injections mimick a biological compound to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so users eat less.
Patients commonly start to lose weight after several weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Evidence points to people may put most of the weight back on after a year of discontinuing the treatment, as their normal hunger come back.
Being carrying excess weight increases your chance for developing medical conditions, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight impacts people in every country and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
