Researchers from the University of Liverpool last week labeled the findings of their psychological study “The Madonna Effect,” referencing the apparent increase in third-world parents “dumping” their children into orphanages with the hope that they might be adopted by celebrities.

Late April Madonna is scheduled to appear at court in the southeast African country of Malawi over publicized controversy relating to her adoption of David Banda, a two-year-old boy she met while visiting a Malawian orphanage a year and a half ago. Critics say that Madonna is using her fame to by-pass usual legal processes for non-resident adoption. Earlier this month the Malawi government recommended to the high court that they approve her adoption. David is currently living with Madonna and her husband in London.

Author of the Liverpool study and child psychologist, Professor Kevin Browne, asserts that there has been an increase in international adoption due to media attention surrounding Madonna’s fight for David. He and his associates believe this effect has harmful results. “Some argue that international adoption is a solution to a large number of children in institutional care but we have found the opposite is true.” They report that children are better off in foster care systems in their native countries and that this increased publicity is encouraging parents, even ones who might be able to keep their own children, to give them up in the hope of a “Western” future.

What some are calling the “adoption fever” is boiling. A sampling of international adopting celebs now includes Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Meg Ryan, Mary-Louise Parker, Julie Andrews, and Mia Farrow.

As debate surrounds the pros and cons of this “fever,” AIDS Orphans Day is approaching. The May 7^th campaign hopes to draw attention to the more than 15 million children, estimated to be 20-25 million by 2010, who have been orphaned by AIDS and face malnutrition and increased susceptibility to exploitation, forced labor, prostitution, and child soldiering. FXB International, the host of AIDS Orphans Day reports that fewer than 1 in 10 AIDS orphan receives any external support, many experiencing discrimination that bars them from healthcare and schooling in their native countries.