每年有超过一万亿美元落入腐败官员之手。你本人也许没有受到影响，但你认识的人可能会受到影响：每四个人中就有一个在同公共机构打交道时不得不行贿。仅在非洲，据估计去年就有7500万人行贿。

令人气愤的不仅仅是这些数字。腐败的官员挪用医疗卫生和教育等公众服务项目的公款，中饱私囊。腐败行径还侵犯人权，从而危及社会。这类行径有可能剥夺人们的自由，甚至生命。

怎样才能杜绝腐败呢？曾任美国驻联合国青年观察员的杰克逊·杜根（Jackson Dougan）说，应当确保你们国家的法律得到执行。

他说，很多国家都制定了反腐败的法律，但这些国家可能没有监督及执行有关法律所需的资源。而大家可以在这方面出一份力。

在新技术的帮助下，让腐败行径曝光不需要很多的资金或很大的权力。人们可以利用社交媒体和在线平台，例如“我行贿了”（I Paid a Bribe），实时汇集民众报告的情况，甚至可以采取匿名方式。

网络和智能手机应用程序，例如美国的“公开账目”（Open the Books），也能帮助民众跟踪政府开支，包括官员的收入情况。这样的数据可以用于追究腐败官员的责任，并推动实行改革。

“透明国际”（Transparency International）还提供了其他一些让社区改变面貌的简单易行的建议，其中包括利用讽刺及其他艺术形式提高人们的认识并提倡改革。[请见英文资料]

12月9日是国际反腐日（International Anti-Corruption Day）。请你坚决抵制腐败行径，并利用推特标签 #breakthechain 进一步获取信息。

Delete corruption from the palm of your hand [video]

Every year over $1 trillion is paid in bribes to corrupt officials. If that doesn’t affect you, it may affect someone you know: More than one in four people have to pay a bribe when dealing with public institutions. In Africa alone, 75 million people are estimated to have done so in the last year.

Those numbers aren’t the only reason to get mad. Corrupt officials divert funds from public services like health care and education to projects that will line their pockets. Corruption also harms societies by undermining human rights. It can cost people their freedom and sometimes their lives.

So how can you fight corruption? By making sure the laws in your country are enforced, says former U.N. youth observer Jackson Dougan.

Many countries have anti-corruption laws, but, as Dougan explains, they may not have the resources to monitor and enforce those laws. That’s where you can help.

Thanks to new technologies, you don’t need a lot of money or power to bring corruption to light. You can use social media and online platforms, such as I Paid a Bribe, to crowdsource reports of corruption in real time, even anonymously.

Web and smartphone applications such as Open the Books in the U.S. also can help you keep tabs on government spending, including how much officials are being paid. These kinds of data can be used to hold corrupt officials accountable and push through reforms.

Transparency International offers other simple ideas for making a difference in your community, including using satire and other art forms to raise awareness and call for change.

December 9 is International Anti-Corruption Day. Say “no” to corruption and learn more about what you can do using the hashtag #breakthechain.