Greek Health Minister Georgiadis to fund free obesity drugs

Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis announced that, starting in September, a new program will provide free innovative medications for adult obesity to program beneficiaries, financed from national public funds. The change follows a funding gap when the EU Recovery Fund allocation for the free drug supply expired on 30 June 2026.

Deputy Health Minister Irini Agapidakis said a solution is expected within the next 15 days, shifting financing to the state budget after a technical change by the European Commission. The measure will cover about 43 500 adults who were at risk of losing their treatment.

The broader preventive initiative “PROLAMVANO” continues unchanged until 2030, having already delivered more than 6.5 million screening exams and identified roughly 300 000 early health issues. The new funding ensures the continuity of free obesity drugs for high‑cardiovascular‑risk patients under the program.