The Global Health Body Raises Warning Over Severe Scarcity of Weight-Loss Jabs

Under a tenth of people eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy have access to them, caution the WHO as it releases its first recommendations on the medications.

With over a billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.

Per projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.

"The new guidance affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with holistic and lifelong care," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are significant obstacles to universal availability to the treatments that can help people shift substantial weight, explains the agency.

Skinny Jab Scarcity

Even in the present most favorable outlook, the supply of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, as stated by the health organization.

The advice urges governments and firms to increase access, by measures such as patent sharing.

The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of a leading brand – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.

The Way Obesity Jabs Operate

GLP-1 drugs mimick a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and boost the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories.

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

Evidence indicates people may regain a significant portion within a year of stopping the treatment, when their usual food cravings return.

Being overweight or obese increases your likelihood for experiencing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.

Obesity affects people in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.