The Global Health Body Issues Alert Over Severe Shortage of Weight-Loss Jabs

Fewer than a tenth of people eligible to benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy have access to them, warns the WHO as it issues its initial recommendations on the therapies.

With over a billion people worldwide now obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.

Based on projections, over two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 without intervention.

"The new guidelines recognises that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with thorough and continuous treatment," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are key hurdles to universal access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, notes the organization.

Skinny Jab Supply Crisis

Despite the present best projected scenario, the supply of these medications might only reach about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.

The recommendation urges countries and companies to increase availability, via strategies like patent sharing.

The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several countries in 2026.

How Obesity Jabs Operate

GLP-1 drugs replicate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and boost feelings of fullness so individuals consume fewer calories.

Individuals commonly start to lose weight within a few weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.

Evidence suggests patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of discontinuing the drug, as their typical hunger return.

Being above a healthy weight increases your risk for experiencing diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.

Excess weight impacts people in every country and was linked to millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.