World Health Organization Issues Alert Over Acute Lack of Weight-Loss Injections

Less than one in 10 people who could benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy have access to them, warns the global health agency as it releases its first recommendations on the drugs.

Given more than one billion people worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to this class of drugs.

Based on projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.

"Our new guidance recognises that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with comprehensive and continuous care," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are key hurdles to broad access to the injections that can help people shift significant body mass, notes the organization.

Skinny Jab Supply Crisis

Even in the present best projected case, the manufacturing of such drugs might only reach around 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, as stated by the health organization.

The guideline urges nations and manufacturers to increase access, via strategies such as voluntary licensing.

Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.

How Weight-Loss Jabs Function

GLP-1 drugs mimick a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and increase satiety so users eat less.

Patients usually see weight reduction within a few weeks of starting on the regular doses.

Studies indicates users may see weight return a year later of halting the medication, as their normal food cravings return.

To be above a healthy weight elevates your chance for experiencing health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain malignancies.

Excess weight concerns individuals in every country and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.