Nairobi — Health advocates are calling on African governments to leverage new World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines on the use of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) therapies to prevent and treat obesity, warning that failure to act could deepen the continent's growing non-communicable disease burden.
In a statement, senior researcher and Stowelink Foundation founder Stephen Ogweno said the guidelines mark a turning point by enabling governments to formally recognise obesity as a medical condition rather than a lifestyle choice. Ogweno is also a trustee of the World Obesity Federation.
The WHO notes that obesity remains one of the world's most pressing health challenges and is linked to millions of deaths annually. Without urgent intervention, the number of people living with obesity globally is projected to double by 2035.
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Obesity is a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. The new WHO guidelines, released earlier this month, classify obesity as a chronic and relapsing disease that requires lifelong, comprehensive care.
GLP-1 therapies are injectable or oral medications that mimic the body's natural GLP-1 hormone, helping regulate blood sugar and promote significant weight loss by slowing digestion and reducing appetite. They are widely used in the management of type 2 diabetes and obesity, with evidence also pointing to potential cardiovascular and kidney benefits in some patients.
According to the WHO, GLP-1 therapies may be used for long-term treatment in adults, excluding pregnant women. The guidelines also recommend that adults prescribed the therapies be offered intensive behavioural support, including structured diet and physical activity programmes, to improve outcomes.
"Without deliberate policies, access to these therapies could exacerbate existing health disparities. WHO calls for urgent action on manufacturing, affordability and system readiness to meet global needs," the organisation said.
Ogweno urged governments, including Kenya's, to move quickly to negotiate prices and fast-track generic production to make the therapies accessible to low-income families.
"If Kenya uses these guidelines well, we can save families from watching their loved ones slip into diabetes or kidney failure. We can shift the system from crisis response to prevention," he said.
He added that the guidelines are critical in addressing the root causes of non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and heart disease, which continue to strain African health systems.
"Africa is unique because we face under-nutrition and over-nutrition at the same time. Sometimes in the same home, a child is underweight while a parent lives with obesity. This double burden is tearing apart our health systems," Ogweno said.
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Through the Stowelink Foundation, Ogweno has led public health initiatives including digital non-communicable disease campaigns in ten countries, educational board games for children on lifestyle diseases and youth-driven primary healthcare programmes that have reached more than 1.6 million people across the continent.
