Sept 4 (Reuters) - The world's wealthiest countries are reneging on promises to boost development aid, threatening U.N. targets for slashing poverty by 2015, according to a U.N. report released on Thursday.

A reduction in poverty is one of eight Millennium Development Goals approved in 2000 by U.N. member states and the world's top development organizations.

Slow delivery of aid and a recent spike in food and energy prices are two reasons the goals are in danger of being unmet by the 2015 deadline, U.N. officials and aid agencies say.

Following is a description of the goals:

SLASH POVERTY AND HUNGER

- Cut in half the number of people living on less than $1 a day

- Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people

- Halve the number of people suffering from hunger

ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION - Ensure that all boys and girls get a complete primary school education

PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY - Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education

REDUCE CHILD MORTALITY - Reduce by two-thirds the mortality rate for children under age 5

IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH - Reduce by three-quarters the maternal mortality rate and achieve universal access to reproductive health

COMBAT AIDS, MALARIA AND OTHER DISEASES

- Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS

- Achieve by 2010 universal access to treatment for HIV and AIDS

- Halt and begin to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases

ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL STABILITY AND REVERSE LOSS OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES

- Integrate principles of sustainable development into national policies and reverse loss of environmental resources

- Achieve a significant reduction in the rate of loss of biodiversity by 2010

- Halve the number of people in the world without safe drinking water and basic sanitation

- Improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2010

DEVELOP A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT

- Address needs of least developed, landlocked and small-island states

- Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, nondiscriminatory trading and financial system

- Deal comprehensively with developing countries' debt

- Cooperate with pharmaceutical companies to provide access to affordable drugs in developing countries

- Work with private sector to make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications (Compiled by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Xavier Briand)

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