India was the main supplier in the health sector to the UN system in 2016 with total sales of over US $800 million, including in pharmaceuticals.

According to the total procurement of goods and services for operational activities of the UN system, India maintains its position as the second largest country to supply the UN in 2016, as has been the case since 2012.

"India continues to be the main supplier in health to the UN system with US $803.79 million within the health sector in 2016, with pharmaceuticals continuing to be the main procurement category for India," the UN said.

India, a top ten supplier country since 2000, supplied 6% of procurements by UN organisations in 2016, the second highest after the US. The UN procured US $902 million worth of goods from India last year, making it the top provider, ahead of the US, in this category. India supplied US $162 million worth of services to the UN system.

According to estimates by the UN, India s procurement volume and share of total UN procurement, however, has dropped from US $1.3 billion and 7.3% in 2015 to US $1.1 billion and 6.0% of total UN procurement in 2016. But it still remained the second largest country to supply the UN in 2016.

"The decrease in procurement can be attributed to a decrease in pharmaceuticals, which explains 97% of the drop," it added.

Procurement from India also included food, management services and medical equipment and supplies. Goods and services from India were procured primarily by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Food Programme (WFP).

The 10 major countries supplying UN organisations included three developing countries (India, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey) in 2016, with a joint procurement of US $2.58 billion, accounting for 32.7% of the top ten countries total procurement. The three countries procurement represented 14.6% of the UN total procurement, which is a decrease from last year when there were 4 developing and least developed countries in the top ten, accounting for 18.0% of total UN procurement.