🔗 Share this article WHO Sounds Warning Over Severe Lack of Weight-Loss Injections Fewer than a tenth of patients who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy can access them, caution the global health agency as it publishes its first recommendations on the therapies. Given more than one billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments. Per projections, more than two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention. "The latest guidelines affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with comprehensive and lifelong care," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key barriers to universal availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, notes the agency. GLP-1 Therapy Shortage Even under the present most favorable scenario, the supply of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, per the WHO. The advice urges governments and firms to expand availability, through approaches including patent sharing. Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026. The Way Weight-Loss Injections Function The injections mimick a biological compound to slow digestion, curb appetite and enhance the sense of being full so individuals reduce food intake. Individuals usually see weight reduction in the initial weeks of commencing the regular doses. Evidence suggests people may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the drug, when their normal appetite come back. Being overweight or obese raises your likelihood for developing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some cancers. Obesity affects individuals in all nations and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
Fewer than a tenth of patients who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy can access them, caution the global health agency as it publishes its first recommendations on the therapies. Given more than one billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments. Per projections, more than two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention. "The latest guidelines affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with comprehensive and lifelong care," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key barriers to universal availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, notes the agency. GLP-1 Therapy Shortage Even under the present most favorable scenario, the supply of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, per the WHO. The advice urges governments and firms to expand availability, through approaches including patent sharing. Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026. The Way Weight-Loss Injections Function The injections mimick a biological compound to slow digestion, curb appetite and enhance the sense of being full so individuals reduce food intake. Individuals usually see weight reduction in the initial weeks of commencing the regular doses. Evidence suggests people may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the drug, when their normal appetite come back. Being overweight or obese raises your likelihood for developing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some cancers. Obesity affects individuals in all nations and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.