The collaboration will focus on obesity prevention, including healthier early-life environments, physical activity promotion, early risk identification, and preparedness within primary health care systems
The WHO Foundation and Novo Nordisk are collaborating to raise awareness on childhood obesity in India.
The collaboration would providing financial support towards strengthening of obesity prevention and health-system readiness in India, to curb the rise of childhood obesity through a scalable school-based health program, they said in a joint communication. The initiative is part of Novo Nordisk’s CSR (corporate social responsibility), an industry representative said.
According to the World Health Organization, overweight and obesity now cause more deaths globally than underweight and are linked to multiple noncommunicable diseases, including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. The WHO Foundation is an independent organisation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, created in 2020 to support the mission of the World Health Organization.
The communication pointed out that the collaboration will focus on obesity prevention, including healthier early-life environments, physical activity promotion, early risk identification, and preparedness within primary health care systems.
The collaboration comes even as globally popular weightloss and diabetes drugs (for adults) Wegovy and Ozempic from Novo Nordisk, and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro make rapid strides in the domestic market. In fact, more versions of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo’s Wegovy and Ozempic, are expected to flood the local market from Indian drugmakers, as a basic patent on semaglutide is set to expire in days, in markets including India.
Anil Soni, Chief Executive Officer of the WHO Foundation, said: “Schools are the frontline of prevention. By integrating health screening and education directly into the school day, this collaboration aims to protect the well-being of the next generation, turning schools into enabling environments for healthy living.”
Vikrant Shrotriya, Managing Director of Novo Nordisk India, said, “India is witnessing a worrying rise in childhood and adolescent obesity, and addressing this challenge early is essential to safeguard the nation’s long-term health.”
Published on March 11, 2026
