WHO Issues Alert Over Severe Scarcity of Weight-Loss Jabs

Under one in 10 people who could benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy can access them, states the WHO as it releases its initial guidance on the therapies.

Considering over a billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is calling for increased and just access to this class of drugs.

Per estimates, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.

"The latest guidance affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be managed with thorough and continuous care," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

High costs, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are major barriers to broad access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, says the agency.

Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity

Even under the present most favorable scenario, the production of these medications might only reach around 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, per the WHO.

The guideline calls on nations and manufacturers to widen access, by strategies including licensing agreements.

Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the main ingredient of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in multiple countries in 2026.

How Obesity Drugs Function

These medications replicate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and enhance the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.

Individuals typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.

Evidence indicates patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the drug, because their normal appetite resume.

To be carrying excess weight increases your chance for experiencing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.

Excess weight concerns individuals in every country and was linked to millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.