BAGHDAD, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN migration agency, on Friday appealed for 41.4 million U.S. dollars for emergency assistance to Iraq, IOM said in a press release.

The IOM funding appeal aims to help alleviate the crisis created by the Islamic State (IS) extremist group and the resulting internal displacement.

Although the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) has gradually declined since 2015, there are still around 1.75 million Iraqis living in displacement by February because of the obstacles to return to their damaged houses, according to IOM's Iraq office.

The funding appeal is aligned with the 2019 UN Humanitarian Response Plan for Iraq, which estimates that about 6.7 million people are in critical need of support.

Nearly 65 percent of those are concentrated in the provinces of Ninewa, Anbar and Salah al-Din, all severely affected by the recent conflict.

"Funding for humanitarian assistance is crucial to uphold the basic needs and dignity of vulnerable Iraqis in displacement," said Gerard Waite, IOM Iraq Chief of Mission.

"We highly appreciate IOM's efforts to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to displaced families in and out of camps as well as support them to return their communities of origin," said Naseer Abdel-Sattar, executive director of the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Center of the Iraqi government.

"We look forward to our continued cooperation in 2019," the Iraqi official added.