WHO Sounds Concern Over Acute Shortage of Weight-Loss Medications

Under 10% of individuals who could benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy can access them, caution the WHO as it publishes its inaugural advice on the therapies.

With over a billion people worldwide now obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments.

Per estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be obese by 2030 without intervention.

"The latest guidelines recognises that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with thorough and continuous care," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are major barriers to broad availability to the injections that can help people shift significant weight, notes the body.

Skinny Jab Supply Crisis

Even under the present best projected scenario, the production of these medications could only cover around 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.

The advice calls on countries and companies to increase access, by measures like voluntary licensing.

A patent on a key compound – the main ingredient of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.

How Weight-Loss Jabs Operate

These medications replicate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and enhance satiety so individuals eat less.

Patients commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.

Research indicates users may see weight return after a year of stopping the treatment, as their usual food cravings resume.

Being above a healthy weight raises your likelihood for experiencing health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.

Excess weight impacts individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.