Ugandans working out
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I Despite the health repercussions, Ugandans battling excess weight are increasingly turning to powerful injectable medicines to shed kilogrammes. The growing popularity of slimming jabs reflects a wider struggle with overweight and obesity, but it is also being driven by people seeking rapid cosmetic weight loss.
Among the medicines attracting growing attention are semaglutide, sold under the brand name Ozempic, and tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro. The drugs can help people lose weight and are increasingly sought after in Uganda, where they are reportedly available from pharmacies in Kampala and other urban centres.
But the growing demand has raised serious safety concerns. Health authorities are warning Ugandans against obtaining and using the injections without proper medical assessment and supervision. The caution comes as regulators in the United Kingdom continue to investigate reports of deaths and adverse reactions among users of popular weight-loss medicines.
The concerns are particularly significant because Uganda is experiencing a rising burden of overweight and obesity. Data released by the Ministry of Health during the National Day of Physical Activity on August 7 showed that the proportion of Ugandans who are overweight or obese increased from 19.3 per cent in 2014 to 24.1 per cent in 2023. This translates to about 10.8 million people, with the burden particularly pronounced in urban centres, including Kampala and Mbarara.
The slimming jab boom
For many people struggling with excess weight, the injections appear to offer an attractive shortcut. Unlike traditional approaches that require sustained changes in diet and physical activity, slimming jabs can suppress appetite and contribute to significant weight loss.
Their growing popularity, however, has created a market in which some people seek the medicines without first undergoing a medical assessment.
Officials at the National Drug Authority (NDA) say this is a major concern. NDA spokesperson Abiaz Rwamwiri said some people are obtaining the medicines outside the formal healthcare system and using them without working with physicians.
He said the medicines are approved for specific medical conditions, including diabetes, and that their use for weight management should be based on an individual doctor’s assessment of the benefits and risks.
“Most of these people are not working with physicians. What we are seeing is an illegal drug market where people are accessing these products for weight loss, yet we approved them on the market because there is a certain group of people who genuinely need them,” Rwamwiri said.
According to the NDA, approval of a medicine is based on whether its expected benefits outweigh its potential risks for an authorised use. The authority is therefore concerned that people who use the injections simply to lose weight, without professional guidance, may expose themselves to unnecessary complications.
Rwamwiri urged people seeking weight-loss treatment to first consult qualified health professionals rather than purchasing the medicines independently.
Death reports raise alarm
Uganda’s warning comes amid international scrutiny of the safety of weight-loss injections.
Data from the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) Yellow Card reporting system showed more than 200 deaths suspected of being linked to popular weight-loss injections, alongside more than 158,000 reports of adverse reactions involving medicines including tirzepatide and semaglutide.
The data recorded 106,189 adverse reactions and 120 deaths associated with tirzepatide, while semaglutide was linked to 48,089 adverse reactions and 59 deaths.
The figures have intensified scrutiny of the medicines, particularly following reports of pancreatic disorders among some users.
However, the UK regulator has stressed that adverse-event reports do not necessarily establish that a medicine caused a death or other medical problem. Reporting can also increase as the use of a medicine expands and public awareness of potential side effects grows.
The regulator continues to monitor the safety of the medicines and says that, based on current evidence, their benefits outweigh potential risks when they are used as authorised.
Uganda has not recorded deaths
Despite the international reports, Uganda has not registered a mortality case officially attributed to the use of the medicines. Dr Charles Oyoo Akiya, the Ministry of Health commissioner for non-communicable diseases, said no such death had been reported to the Government.
“We have not had any reports from people using this jab,” he said, while noting that the medicines and their use would need to be considered within Uganda’s clinical guidelines.
Akiya said overweight and obesity occur when excess body fat reaches levels that can harm health. He linked the growing problem partly to diets dominated by sugary, oily and highly processed foods rather than fresh, whole foods.
His advice is that Ugandans should focus on physical activity and healthier eating rather than treating injections as a simple solution to weight gain.
He also warned against the broader problem of medicines being obtained and used without prescriptions, saying the misuse of medicines contributes to the country’s growing non-communicable disease burden.
Akiya urged people considering weight-loss injections to first see qualified specialists who can assess whether the medicines are appropriate for them. He also called on pharmacies not to sell prescription medicines without proper medical advice.
Users report harsh side effects
Despite the warnings, some Ugandans who use the medicines say they have experienced significant weight loss.
Margaret Kyesimire, who administered semaglutide to her obese son, said a specialist initially discouraged her from using the injection. She said she was looking for a quick solution after other weight-loss approaches had failed, and the doctor eventually allowed her son to use the medicine.
After about three years of treatment, she said, her son had achieved significant results. But the treatment also came with severe side effects.
“Whenever he takes them, he will not go to school because of uncontrollable stomach upsets and diarrhoea,” she said. Kyesimire said the injections are readily available in pharmacies in Kampala and that demand is high, particularly among people looking for rapid weight loss. She described the medicines as expensive but said pharmacies sometimes run out of stock because of the demand.
Her experience highlights the tension surrounding slimming jabs: while they can be effective tools in the medical management of obesity, they can also cause unwanted effects and are not suitable for everyone.
A specialist who recommended the injection for Kyesimire’s son acknowledged that the medicines can have adverse effects but cautioned against directly attributing all deaths among users to the drugs.
The doctor noted that many people using the injections are already obese or overweight and may have underlying conditions such as heart or kidney disease. Such medical complications can make it difficult to establish whether a death was caused by the medicine, the underlying disease or a combination of factors.
Beyond the quick fix
The rising popularity of slimming jabs reflects a genuine health challenge. With more than 10 million Ugandans affected by overweight or obesity, the demand for effective treatment is unlikely to disappear.
For people with medically diagnosed obesity, medicines such as semaglutide and tirzepatide can form part of a broader treatment plan when prescribed and monitored by qualified professionals. The danger lies in turning them into ordinary cosmetic slimming products that can be purchased and used without assessment.
Health authorities therefore face the difficult task of balancing access for patients who genuinely need the medicines with efforts to prevent inappropriate use.
For Ugandans seeking to lose weight, the message from health officials is clear: a slimming jab should not be viewed as a quick fix. Weight management requires an assessment of an individual’s health, diet, physical activity, medical history and potential risks before treatment is considered.
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