Medical Funding

Obesity has surged in South Africa, affecting nearly 11 million adults and costing R33 billion in 2020, equivalent to 16% of government health spending. Despite effective treatments like bariatric surgery and GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy, medical schemes limit coverage, exacerbating the financial strain on patients and funders. New guidelines aim to reframe obesity as a chronic disease to improve access.