World Health Organization Raises Concern Over Critical Shortage of Weight-Loss Injections

Less than one in 10 patients who could benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy can access them, states the World Health Organization as it issues its first guidance on the therapies.

With more than one billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.

According to estimates, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.

"The new guidelines affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with thorough and ongoing treatment," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Significant expense, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key obstacles to widespread access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, says the agency.

Weight-Loss Drug Shortage

Despite the current best projected case, the production of such drugs might only reach around 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the WHO.

The advice encourages governments and firms to widen access, via approaches like voluntary licensing.

The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the core component of a leading brand – is due to expire in several countries in 2026.

How Obesity Jabs Function

These medications mimick a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and boost the sense of being full so people consume fewer calories.

People commonly start to lose weight after several weeks of starting on the regular doses.

Studies points to patients may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the treatment, because their usual hunger return.

Being carrying excess weight raises your likelihood for developing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain cancers.

Obesity affects individuals in every country and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.