WHO Issues Concern Over Severe Shortage of Obesity Medications
Less than one in 10 individuals that would benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it releases its first advice on the therapies.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for increased and just access to this class of drugs.
Based on estimates, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with holistic and ongoing support," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are major barriers to universal access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, explains the body.
Skinny Jab Shortage
Even under the present most favorable outlook, the production of such drugs would only suffice for about 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline encourages governments and firms to increase access, through strategies like patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Injections Function
The injections imitate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and increase the sense of being full so people eat less.
People typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Studies suggests users may see weight return after a year of stopping the drug, because their typical appetite return.
Being above a healthy weight increases your chance for contracting health problems, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
